Bye bye, Vespers
by riatheriver
Summary: The Cahill's have finally rescued the hostages after months of torture. They are finally home, but what more can happen the few weeks so close to Christmas and New Years? Evan's being distant and Ian sees his chance. Dan and Natalie are not trying to kill each other? This holiday season is sure to be eventful.
1. A pretty sweet 14th birhday

A/N: I'd like to just point out that I don't know when Dan's real birthday is, or how the hostages were actually freed. This is just my imagination running wild, ok? Also, I'm assuming Dan is in eighth grade and please just bear with me for the purpose of this story. Please? This is the first story I've written on this website so yeah…

A special thanks to **Lo****vely SOS** for encouraging me to write and for giving me a few ideas! Everyone go check her out because she's amazing and her writing is top notch!

This story takes place after the whole Vesper situation, and although I don't know how it actually happened, or what happened afterwards, I present to you this story that my brain has spawned.

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the 39 clues or any characters associated with it!**

* * *

**Chapter 1: A pretty sweet 14****th**** birthday**

Dan awoke to the relaxing sound of rain pitter-pattering on his window. For the first time in months he'd gotten through the whole night without waking up. No nightmares. It must have been due to the fact that the hostages were finally safe from the Vespers. Finally they were all home.

Wait a minute! _They were all home!_ Dan let the truth finally sink in, after about a week of it actually happening.

* * *

"_Amy hurry!" Dan yelled. "They're getting closer!"_

"_Dan, you go on! I'm alright! Go get the rest of them!" Amy shouted back, her voice only barely louder than the bombs exploding around them. _

_They had been planning vigorously for months after they had finally found out the location where the Vespers were keeping their relatives as hostages. They had created a fool proof blueprint of how they would rescue the hostages. Earlier today they had set out to execute the mission. They were finally going to have their family back! _

"_NATALIE! NATALIE WHERE ARE YOU?! NATALIE!" yelled Ian desperately, his voice cracking. _

_He, Amy, Hamilton, Madison, Ian, and Jonah had finally managed to recruit Reagan, Ted, Phoenix, Nellie, Fiske, and Alistair. All of whom looked tired and weak. But there was no sign of Natalie._

"_NATALIE, COME ON! WHERE ARE YOU?" Ian was close to tears. _

Where could she be? _Dan thought._

_Finally, he saw a movement up ahead. It was the small figure of a young girl with tan skin and dark hair. She was wearing a jumpsuit and she was crying. Tears were making clean streaks through the grim that covered her face. Dan wanted to cry out of relief and happiness. He ran over to her and pulled her out of the way right before a huge column fell on her. He helped her hastily move around falling debris in their quest to get to the group._

_Natalie Kabra ran straight into Ian's arms. The reunion was really touching, but they seriously had to get a move on. He shouted at them to follow him, and they were off once again. Running through hallways filled with traps. _

_They almost fell into a huge pit that lead into a dark and smelly dungeon. If it wasn't for Phoenix stopping them right before they fell, they'd all be prisoners. So they carried on with the mission, hoping for the best._

"_Ok we need to take a left here and then keep going straight until we pass a room marked 'Sydney 17'. Then we have to continue forward until we come to the next intersection, which we will turn left at again," explained Amy, holding a huge map. "They're probably going to throw more obstacles our way but we have to try our hardest to avoid them if we want to get out ali- TED WATCH OUT!" _

_Ted immediately ducked and grabbed Reagans hand once he stood up, asking her to lead him._

"_Ok, as I was saying, please be careful! We really do not need any casualties today. Please." She continued. "Alright, follow me."_

_They ducked from hanging axes and jumped over more pits. They deflected arrows and maneuvered through bullets. They would not let anything stop them. They would succeed. Dan saw a quick exchange through Amy and Ian, they were holding hands and clinging to each other as if their lives depended on it._

_They made it out of the building with Ian shooting lethal darts at guards and Alistair hitting people with his cane. Hamilton was punching everything he could get ahold of and Madison was kicking guys in their soft spots, making them keel over into little balls._

_They straggled through bushes and plants and made it into a clearing a mile away where two helicopters were waiting to take them to safety. _

_They had made it out! Natalie had passed out somewhere along the fight and Ian was carrying her. Dan carefully helped load her into the first helicopter and sat in the seat next to hers. Ian, Jonah, and Amy were tending the wounds of Nellie, Fiske, and Phoenix. Dan knew that in the second helicopter, Hamilton and Madison were doing the same to Reagan, Ted, and Alistair. _

_Amy and Nellie were crying now and hugging each other so hard that it must have been painful. He didn't even think it was weird. He was doing the same to Fiske after they had taken off. He had really missed them all. _

_He settled into his seat and Natalie stirred._

"_Dan?" she questioned, her voice coated in her smooth British accent. Her amber eyes slightly drooping._

"_Yeah I'm here." He replied. "Do you want me to call Ian?"_

_Ian was sitting across from them with his eyes closed. Dan knew he wasn't sleeping though. He was a mess. But he was just on overload and he was trying to think. _

"_No, you don't need to do that. Let him rest," she whispered. She then proceeded to fall asleep. __Dan knew that she must be exhausted- physically and emotionally. He didn't know what he would do if he was in her position. He was just so happy that she- and the rest of his family, of course- was back._

_They ended up getting to the mansion at around three a.m. and went to sleep until noon the next day. Many of them were restless. _

_Hamilton and Madison had checked on Reagan at least five times throughout the night. _

_Ian had spent the night on the sofa in Natalie's room, which ended up being a really great idea because she woke up screaming a few times and needed him so comfort her and help her go back to sleep. _

_Ned and Ted hadn't even bothered going to sleep and were in the kitchen when the rest of the family woke up. _

_The next few days after were spent with people shedding hundreds of tears and sharing numerous hugs. Nobody would leave each other's side. It was as if everyone had been joined at the hips. But what could you expect after not seeing people you care about for months while they were being tortured?_

* * *

He didn't really feel any older but he was mildly close to finishing the 8th grade and that excited him to the point of a big smile being plastering itself on his face. He didn't care that school didn't really end for another six months! It was soon enough. The mere thought of finishing school and going into summer vacation! But sadly, Dan would have time to dream about his beach plans later on, especially since it was currently freezing in Boston. Right now what he had to worry about was making Amy mad by trashing his house once a few of his distant relatives woke up.

At last, he would get to have some fun without his worries hanging on his shoulders.

His school was currently on break for the holidays. Christmas was just around the corner and then came New Years!

He glanced at his superheroes watch. It was 5:38 a.m. _Five__ thirty eight. A.M. _Dan _never_ woke up this early. _Ever. _Wow, he must have gotten a really good nights sleep.

He shuffled into the bathroom and got ready. After he had brushed his teeth, taken a shower, and dressed himself in black jeans and a marvel shirt, he walked downstairs to fix himself breakfast, not suspecting anyone to be awake yet.

Little did he know that who he ran into when he got to the kitchen would be quite a surprise ending in an interesting breakfast with just him and his cousin, on his birthday morning.

* * *

A/N: Reviews are appreciated because you know I worked really hard on this people! Yeah, if any of you has any ideas or subplots or something that you want to give me, I WILL GLADLY ACCEPT THEM!


	2. What's this about a plan?

A/N: Ok so **Paris Cahill** just recently informed me that Dan's actual birthday is on February 1st, but please don't let it bother you and don't let it be the reason why you stop reading this story! It's not _that _big of a deal! I'm so sorry though! I promise next time it will all be according to facts!

Once again a special thanks to **Lovely SOS** and seriously guys go check her out or something!

This chapter is a lot longer than the past one so there you go! Also, I keep messing a few things up because I'm really new to this website and it's hard to get the hang of at first, but I think I'm good now.

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the 39 clues or any characters associated with it!**

* * *

**Chapter 2: What's this about a plan?**

Dan scampered down to the kitchen and who he saw surprised him. Why would _she, _not only be up this early, but also be making her _own_ breakfast?

"_Natalie?_" Dan gasped. "_What are you doing here? It's, like, super early."_

"What does it look like I'm doing Daniel? I'm making myself breakfast, _duh_!" Natalie replied using the American slang she had learned from him. "I always wake up at this time. I can never manage to sleep any longer. Nightmares. You know." She shrugged and wrinkled her nose in distaste.

Dan was shocked when he looked at what she was doing. _Was she making pancakes?_

"Natalie, are you making pancakes? What happened to your fancy shmancy crepes or whatever?" He said, voicing his previous thought. He walked over to her and put the back of his hand against her forehead. "Are you feeling alright? You aren't coming down with something, are you?"

"The crepes are in the fridge. I _do_ eat normal food, you know? Besides, these are organic, low fat, and overall pretty healthy. Do you want some?" Natalie asked as she flipped another pancake onto a plate that was already stacked up with them.

"Natalie Kabra offering to do something _nice?_ Now I know you're not feeling ok. Has the world gone mad? Is it opposites day?" He questioned suspiciously. His mouth was open in an "o" and his eyes opened wide.

"Oh shut up! I _am_ nice! Now, sit down you child." And so Dan sat.

Natalie split about eight pancakes and settled them onto two plates. There were three pancakes on one plate and five in the other. She sprinkled blueberries and cut up strawberries on the tops and smothered them in maple syrup. She also spread a small amount of whipped cream to top them off.

Dan figured that the larger stack was for him but Natalie knocked the socks off his feet when she settled the smaller stack in front of him and set the larger stack on her placemat.

She sat down next to him, put a napkin on her lap, and brought her fork and knife up to the stack, all while Dan stared at her. He didn't know whether he was amazed and or impressed or astonished.

"_What?_" she said, stopping right before she cut up the stack of pancakes.

"Nat…"

Natalie chuckled and switched their plates.

"You didn't think I was serious, did you? I would never eat that much!" she laughed.

"Haha. Well, Princess, I didn't know you had a sense of humor!"

They looked at each other for a moment, smiling. And then they burst out laughing.

"Oh… My… God… Natalie!" Dan gasped between laughs.

"What?" she said, her laughing decreasing to a small smile

"You're great!" Dan said, his jade green eyes lighting up. He couldn't help but feel the tugging at the corners of his lips, resulting in a smile that mirrored Natalie's.

If Dan wasn't mistaken, Natalie blushed. _Nah, it's probably just her makeup,_ he thought.

He smiled at her again and Natalie felt her heart flutter. _What was going on with her today? Natalie, snap out of it! He's a Cahill. _Dan_ Cahill. He's gross and he acts like a child! _

They ate the rest of their breakfast in silence, broken only when Dan got up to get Natalie and him something to drink and again when Dan paused to comment that these were, "The best pancakes he has ever had." And that "They're even better than Nellie's!" and "But shh, don't tell her that!" in between bites. They put their napkins on top of their empty plates and Dan spoke up again.

"Hey, not to be get into your business or anything, but why have you been acting so… different lately?" He asked Natalie.

"Different? What are you talking about? What do you mean?" she responded, picking up their empty plates.

"Well, ever since the Vesp-"

Dan was cut off by Natalie shaking violently. She dropped the plates and they crashed onto the floor, breaking into a hundred pieces, the silverware clattering helplessly.

She tried to hold on to the counter top to steady herself but lost her balance and missed. She hit her head on the edge as she fell to the ground.

"NATALIE!" Dan yelled, suddenly afraid.

He shook her and tried to help her up. Her limbs were limp at her sides and her eyes were opening and closing slowly.

"Natalie, are you ok?" Dan picked her up onto his lap and talked to her softly.

"Hey, no, it's okay. No, its fine. You're ok. You're ok. Shhh, you're fine. Shhh, you'll be fine. Shhhhh."

He started caressing her silky black hair and swaying her back and forth.

"Come on. Wake up. Please. _Please._"

"D-Dan? What happened? Why am I… on your lap?" She blushed. Dan's face also turned slightly pink.

"You fell and got knocked out after you hit your head on the counter top. You probably hit it pretty hard. Are you okay? Let me check out your head."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I don't really remember what happened though," she said as Dan took a look at her injuries. She fumbled around trying to get up. After a few futile attempts she looked to Dan for help.

"Can you..?" She hadn't finished her question before Dan helped her unsteadily to her feet. "Thanks," she said.

"No problem. Wait here and don't do anything stupid. I'm gonna go get the first aid kit."

"As if Daniel. As. If."

Natalie sat down on a stool by the place she had fallen.

Dan went into the bathroom to fetch the first aid kit.

Natalie touched her head and discovered that she had a lump the size of the moon on her head and it was bleeding. Profusely.

She felt blood slowly drip down to her cheek, down to her chin, and finally fall in a drop onto her hand.

She observed the blood on her fingers until Dan came back. He ran in carrying a big, white case embedded with a red cross on the top. He stopped short when he saw the blood dripping down the side of her face. He noticed her examining something on her finger tips and proceeded to ask her what it was.

"Blood." Was all she said, holding her fingers a few inches from her eyes.

Yes, he could see it now. A few dark red splotches on her hand.

"Natalie, are you sure you're ok?" She nodded.

Dan was starting to get seriously worried about her state of mind. _What was she doing?_

"Ok, Natalie, this might sting a little, but I really need to clean out the cut before it gets like infected or something."

"You sound like Nellie," she said as she backed away from the pad soaked with rubbing alcohol and some other cleaning substance.

"Nat just hold still! I know it hurts but I seriously have to clean this! I think you'll need a few stiches or those white tape-y things that doctors use. This looks pretty bad."

"Always the charmer, Daniel. You really know how to make a woman feel safe and sound," Natalie joked, rolling her eyes.

"Hahaha- woman- hahahah. You know you love me. I make you feel secure and amazing! Don't even try to deny it!" Dan replied. "Ok, we're gonna need to wake up Nellie so she can drive us to the hospital. Are you ok with that?"

"Yeah, just wake the nanny," she shrugged.

As Dan was walking away he shouted, "AU PAIR! Wait, no! LEGAL GAURDIAN!"

_Meanwhile_

Amy sat idly, stirring a cup of tea subconsciously, while invested in an interesting novel. She had settled into a small, comfy couch in the living room after Dan had rushed off to the hospital with Natalie and Nellie. It was reaching an exciting point and Amy couldn't help but to let herself become completely immersed in her reading. She felt her eyes widen in shock and suddenly she yelled out. The cup she was holding in her free hand slipped from her grasp and crashed onto the wooden floor underneath.

-Ian-

It was 8:26 a.m. and Ian was researching material for a new project he was working on when he heard a scream, followed by a crash, coming from downstairs. He shot up from his desk and scrambled into the living room.

"Amy, Love? Wha-," he was interrupted by Amy's hand, hastily shooing him away. He did the natural thing, he stepped closer.

His eyes flickered to her face, where he saw her eyes racing across the pages, wide with anticipation, her mouth open just slightly, as if caught in the middle of a gasp. Without warning her eyebrows creased and her expression became sour and dark.

She was nearing the end of her book, with only a few pages left to go. His gaze shifted to the floor where a shattered mug caught his attention, tea slowly trickling around it. He heard a page turn.

Finally, she looked up at him, through thick eyelashes, her eyes misty, acknowledging for the first time that he was there.

"Oh. My. God," she managed. "That was…," she let herself trail off.

"I thought something bad had happened! You scared me half to death, love!" Ian said, in his smooth English accent.

Amy, still in shock, didn't even bother telling him not to call her "Love," barely registering the fact that a strikingly good looking British boy with silky black hair was standing a mere foot away from her, looking down at her with a curious expression.

Then, realizing the close proximity of the 16-year-old, Amy blushed and looked down. She felt his amber eyes piercing into her skin. She followed an upwards trail and met his eyes with her jade green ones.

"What book were you reading? Was it any good?" Ian asked after a few silent minutes had passed. He actually sounded interested as he took a seat beside her.

They both couldn't help but notice their bodies slightly brushing against each other's. Amy shivered. Whenever that darn Cobra touched her- no matter where it be- she felt electricity shooting through her body. She liked the feeling it gave her. Her stomach twisted into knots, but she still refused to think about when they had rescued the hostages and Ian had held her hand tightly. It was probably just a spur of the moment thing, but still, it had felt nice. It was nothing like what she felt when she was with Evan. He could never make her feel the way that stupid Cobra did, no matter how much she wanted him to.

Evan had been a bit distant lately. He barely called or texted anymore and they only saw each other on the weekends.

"It's called 'The Peak,'" Amy said and then raised her book to answer his second question. She hoped that once he got a good look at it, he would then notice that it was the book he had given her on her 16th birthday. But sadly, Ian showed no recollection of ever seeing the book before this moment.

He looked at the worn out binding and the creases. If that didn't make it obvious as to was it any good or not, Amy didn't know what would. But Ian understood completely.

He gently took the book from her hands, sending chills all over her body, and began to skim through the pages. He could see some pages were folded and he saw how Amy had highlighted and annotated the text. On one particular page about how the main character dealt with her weaknesses and what they were, Amy had written 'him' in her neat print. Ian raised an eyebrow and looked at her.

Amy noticed the page he was on and turned slightly redder. She took the book back and set it down on the coffee table.

"So, do you n-need something? Why are you h-here?" Amy's voice quivered like it always did when he was around.

"I am here because I heard a scream and a crash and came to check on you. But now that I'm here I might as well ask for your help."

"Help with w-what?"

"Well, you remember that plan I told you about? The one for Dan's birthday?" He answered.

"Yeah I remember. What happened? What's this all about Cobra?" Ian winced at the nickname, but Amy continued, "Can't you just leave me alone in peace to read a good book? I thought we had already settled everything about what we were going to do. I mean, we already got the rest of the family to agree and set everything up."

"Well it seems to me that you're done with this good book. So can you talk it over with me or not? We just need to finalize everything. Carnivals are really hard to plan."

"I don't know about this. What are you planning on changing? Isn't it a little too late to c-change anything so c-close to the event?"

"I'm just changing some of the attractions." He claimed. He took Amy's hand and pulled her upstairs into his room. Amy tensed at his touch but relaxed almost as suddenly, knowing that it didn't mean anything.

Ian brought Amy over to his desk so she could see what was on his laptop screen.

"No way," she said. Her eyes turned large and bright.

"Yes way," Ian contradicted. "So will you help me?"

"I'm in."

* * *

SOOOO? WHAT DID YOU THINK?

WHAT DO YOU THINK IAN, AMY, AND THE REST OF THE GANG ARE PLANNING?

WHERE IS EVAN?

WHAT'S WRONG WITH NATALIE?

SO MUCH STUFF GAHH

Ok, sorry. I'm just really happy/excited for this. HEY SO I WOULD LARGELY APPRECIATE IDEAS FOR THINGS LIKE PLOT TWISTS AND STORIES WITH THE CHARACTERS AND BASICALLY ANYTHING THAT YOU COME UP WITH! Thank you! If this was confusing at all, I'm truly sorry. It's quite hard getting my thoughts all down. I'm a bit cluttered at the moment.

I'm going to try to update as soon as I can. Or as soon as I finish writing and editing a chapter. Sometimes that will take less than a day and other times it will take a little longer. Just have patience please! I'm not a robot!


	3. HospiTALE

A/N: YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING! You've all been really honest with me in your reviews, not to mention the fact that you're ACTUALLY REVIEWING! Jeez I can't even explain how happy I am and how glad it makes me that you support this! So, thank you thank you thank you!

I know this is the third time, and probably not the last, but I believe in giving credit where credit is due. A special thanks to **Lovely SOS **for helping me write this chapter. She beta'ed it or whatever you call it and gave me some ideas! Guy's, she's seriously SO helpful so check her out!

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the 39 clues or any characters associated with it! I was of no influence to any of the writers either, if you were wondering!**

And without further ado, here is CHAPTER THREEEE

* * *

**Chapter 3: HospiTALE**

-Natalie-

Daniel's eyes shone. "Are you okay? Are you feeling better?" he whispered, scrunching his eyes and analyzing my face.

"I don't know how I feel, ok? Steri-strips are so not Kabricular! And there's super glue on my forehead. How am I supposed to feel? I look terrible!" I nearly shouted.

"_No, you don't," _Dan said sympathetically.

Steri-strips, a.k.a. "butterfly" strips, were these narrow strips that are placed over small cuts, usually on or near the face area, held with a bit of tension to keep it closed. A sticky liquid is placed on the skin to hold the strips on. The doctor told me that I can get them off in less than a week. If I keep them on for like three days and they stay in their place, the outcome can be as good as stiches just without the horrible appearance of "railroad tracks" that stiches leave. And they don't take that long to heal. And I guess it's pretty swell considering it pretty much heals without leaving a nasty scar. Perfect! Just perfect. Just in time for Dan's birthday. Wonderful.

I just cannot _wait _until these stupid _things_ are ripped off my face! I can't even put on makeup the whole time I have them on, which is like a week, because they might get infected! I mean, _how ridiculous is that?_ It's not like makeup ever killed anyone. Well, unless you're talking about the special Lucian makeup brand that can burn skin on contact and create blindness and all terrible sorts of diseases. Those probably have killed.

To make it all worse I can't even lock myself in my room while I wear the stupid strips because I'm staying with the Cahills. So Daniel- and the rest of the family, of course- has to see my bare face. _Without any makeup! _I can't even stand to think about it any longer!

To take my mind off my face I turn to Daniel. "Ok, fine. Would you mind accompanying me to get some fresh fruit?"

"Accompany you… to get some fresh… fruit. Fresh. Fruit. _Fresh. Fruit._ Really Nat, live a little! They have all sorts of meals and healthy-and unhealthy- things here! And you want to get _fresh fruit?_" Dan questioned. "Are. You. Out. Of. You're. Mind? To hell I will get you some _fresh fruit!_ I'm getting you a brownie," he said defiantly, crossing his arms.

I scoffed. "Are _you_ out of _your _mind? To hell will I let you get me a _brownie! _And to hell will I actually _eat it! _I'd rather die._" _Which was a complete lie.

"Wait, why _wouldn't_ you want to eat a brownie?" Dan asked, surprised.

"Why would I _want _to?"

"But, why _wouldn't_ you?"

"Why_ would _I?"

"NATALIE!"

"DANIEL!"

"Stop it."

"You stop it."

"You started it!"

"No, _you_ started it!"

"Oh, _really?_"

"Yes, _really,"_ I said, speaking my words in what I hoped was a thick accentuation.

"'Yes, _really',"_ he mimicked, coating his words in a fake British accent.

"Wait, what are we talking about again?"

"I'm not sure. What did you ask me?" he said, back to his usual clueless demeanor.

"To help me get some fresh fruit?"

"Oh, the Fresh Fruit Problem…"

I stared at him with a blank look. "'The Fresh Fruit Problem'? Daniel, what are you talking about? All I wanted was some fresh fruit and you just had to go and-"

I was cut short when Daniel linked his hand with mine, pulled me off my chair, letting the blanket I was using fall to the ground, and dragged me to the cafeteria. He was surprisingly… _strong._ Oh my god, what am I doing? I can't…. I can't be with Dan. Besides, he hates me. RIGHT? I mean, I _think _he hates me. No, he does hate me. He must. After all we did to him and his sister… just…. _Ugh._ I was so disgusted with myself afterwards. Honestly.

"Ok," he sighed. He took his index finger and pointed to the desserts. "Here you see a wonderful selection of pastries. We have chocolate chip cookies, double chocolate chip cookies, _triple _chocolate chip cookies, triple chocolate chip cookies with melted chocolate goo inside-"

"_Dan,_" I said exasperated. "I can _see_ that."

He had a curious smile on his face and an air of- what was it? Superiority? No, that's not it. Achievement? Well, nonetheless he looked _happy._

"What?" I asked. I wanted to know why he not only wouldn't respond to what I had said, but also why he was wearing such a silly expression. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Still smiling he said, "You called me Dan." Then he shrugged slighty.

Oh no! Ugh, how could I be so stupid? I'm not allowed to get close to him. Any sign of attachment is bad bad _bad._ Not wanting him to see my mistake I simply said, "So?"

"You always-I mean _always- _call me Daniel," he said, still smiling.

I didn't like feeling like he had something over me. It was like… like he had _won_ or something. I scoffed again.

"Oh, get over yourself. It's not that big of a deal. Now, I'm not hungry anymore. So, if we could just _go home_ that'd be just great."

He walked away to get Nellie with a slight hop in his step, leaving me to wonder why it had made him so happy.

_Mean-to-the-while_

With Dan, Natalie and Nellie still at the hospital, it gave Amy and Ian the perfect opportunity to finalize the finishing touches on Dan's birthday gift.

Ian, surprisingly, had planned out the perfect gift for Dan. He said it was going to be called Danival-like carnival but with Dan- and that it was going to be 'extremely fun'.

They were currently calling in favors from their relatives- hey, being a member of the most influential family in the world has its perks- when Amy looked at Ian.

"Why do you want to do this all for Dan? I thought you hated him and he was really annoying," she said.

Ian looked back at her. "Well, he is. I just… thought he needed a really great birthday present. Especially after everything that happened with the Vespers and all." _And I really want you to realize how much I've changed, _he added in his mind.

"Ian I never realized you cared about him so much," she replied with a small smile and a twinkle in her eyes.

"Well, he is family…"

And with that, he got up and went to make another call.

They were planning to have someone, they didn't know who yet, take Dan out for a while and distract him while they set up. They didn't see how it would be possible though. Dan was really hard to keep entertained for more than a few minutes, much less a few hours. They were supposed to start setting up at around two thirty p.m. so that the carnival would be open in time. The designated time to open officially was seven p.m. and they needed Dan as far away as possible from the place they were holding the carnival at.

The family was bustling around the house. They were all aware of the plan. Dan was not to find out _anything_. They were supposed to pretend to have forgotten his birthday and they had to make it as convincing as possible.

Amy realized that her and Ian's plans were scattered all over the coffee table in the living room and that her brother would be home any minute. She told Ian she was taking their stuff upstairs and took her files to her room.

Amy looked around for a moment. She spotted her diary peeking out from her pillow and thrust it back so it wasn't visible anymore. _If anyone got a hold of that… well, things wouldn't be too pretty._

She took out her phone and called her adorkable boyfriend, Evan. She'd felt that they'd been out of touch recently and she was determined to fix that. She was making more of an effort to interact with him, but she couldn't contain the nagging that she felt at the back of her mind that it just wasn't working out between them anymore. She pushed it back down to the deepest part of her mind. She _would not_ think about that right now.

She dialed his number. One ring. Two rings. Three rings.

"Hello? Amy?" Evan answered. He sounded strangely tired.

"Evan! Hey! How are you?" Amy faked cheeriness. She felt so worn down and she didn't understand what she was feeling. She was so _confused._

"I'm great, how have you been? Isn't today Dan's birthday?"

"Yeah it is. But don't wish him a happy birthday! We're planning him a surprise kinda thing. We planned a one day carnival called Danival and it's going to be really cool and that's actually the reason I called. It would make me really happy if you could come."

"Yeah I'll come Amy! I'm sure it'll be great! So send me all the information and I guess I'll see you later!"

"Ok thanks Evan! I'll see you later!"

Ok that was one chore taken care of.

She walked back down the stairs and she saw that Nellie was back with Dan and Natalie.

Ian was all over Natalie, asking her about every single thing that had happened since she woke up.

Natalie looked a little uncomfortable with everyone looking at her and Amy wondered why.

With a start she realized that she wasn't wearing makeup. _No way_. Natalie. Princess. Kabra. Was. Not. Wearing. Any. Makeup. Amy was starstruck. She looked at Ian and even though he was really worried and invested in his sister she could tell that he was also surprised. _So that's why Natalie looked uncomfortable with everyone looking at her_. She didn't want to be seen without makeup!

Amy honestly didn't even know why though. Natalie was flawless! She looked perfect. Amy longed to be like that, she just never showed it. It was usual for her to look average.

He saw Dan glance at Natalie and smile. Her eyes flickered to him as well and she smiled. It was such a small smile that if she hadn't been paying attention to the exchange, she wouldn't have noticed it.

Suddenly Amy knew just who the perfect person to distract Dan was. _Natalie._

Amy knew it was time to set the plan in motion and get Dan out of the house and far away from the construction site. She pulled out her phone and texted Ian. The message read: Natalie is going to be the one who distracts Dan.

After looking at his screen, Ian replied: Alright, love. But why Natalie?

She thought for a moment and typed: I don't know. They seem closer. Almost like their… friends.

Then she walked over to where Ian and Natalie were sitting. "Hey Nat!"

"Hello Amy, don't call me that," Natalie replied with a frown.

"How was the hospital? I heard you had a nasty fall. Dan called me really worried from the hospital."

Natalie looked down for a moment and let her hair cover part of her face, much like Amy always did. "It was alright…" She touched one of the steri-strips subconsciously. "Did Dan really call you?"

_Woah, where did _that_ come from? And since when does she call him Dan?_

"He sure did! He was super panicky. It's great that it went well though! Are you feeling better?"

Natalie frowned again. "Well, as 'better' as I can get, I guess."

"You look… r-really good! I'm s-sure you'll get everything off in no time! Hey, so I was w-wondering… You know the t-thing we're doing for Dan's birthday?" she paused. Natalie was making her nervous.

"Yeah, I know," she said, now curious.

Amy tried to put as much confidence as she could into her next words, but as usual, her vocal chords betrayed her. "Would you m-maybe , p-possibly, consider being the one to distract h-him?"

Natalie agreed faster than Amy expected.

"Well, if I _must._ It _is_ his birthday after all. When do you want him gone?"

"After lunch I think would be fine. And, thanks Natalie," Amy finished, surprised.

-Dan-

I couldn't stop thinking about how good- no, _beautiful_- Natalie looked without makeup. She honestly didn't need it. As far as I could tell, she was perfect.

I stopped myself. _Woah woah woah. Slow down there Dan-o. What's gotten into you? _

I shook my head but the thoughts kept coming and coming. Back at the hospital she had called me 'Dan'. Not 'Daniel'. And for some reason it had made me so happy. It had made me so happy, in fact, that I Had no idea how to even describe it. I seriously needed to get a grip.

Ian was interrogating Natalie about the day's events. I turned to Natalie and smiled.

She smiled back at me. But it was such a small smile, I doubted anyone else had seen it. Even that little smile from her made my insides turn to mush. I felt what seemed like a stampede in my stomach. It was as if my intestines were literally tying themselves into knots. She looked _so_ _pretty._ I was scared I was in danger of actually _drooling_.

I was about to get up and talk to her when Amy sat down with Natalie and by the time they were done talking it was time for lunch, stealing the moment I was going to use to talk to her.

Lunch was pretty uneventful in my opinion. Everyone sat around the table like they did every day and they did all the usual stuff. But what bothered me was that it was already noon and nobody had mentioned my birthday. _At all. _I didn't mean that I wanted everyone's praise or that I wanted all eyes on me at all times, but still, it was a little disappointing. At first I had thought it was because everyone was preoccupied with Natalie and the whole hospital business, but now I wasn't so sure. Maybe they had actually forgotten? No, they wouldn't do that. I figured that they were all just pulling a big prank on me and would bring out some cake or _something_,but nothing happened. As the end of lunch rolled around, I was even more discouraged.

We all cleared away the table and Nellie made me help wash the dishes. _ON MY BIRTHDAY! _Ok, now I'm pretty upset.

Natalie finally came up to me after I had finished scrubbing. I thought that maybe she remembered it was my birthday and had come to wish me a good day but _zip! Nada. Nothing._ She didn't mention it or bring it up.

"Hello Dan," she said.

"Hey Princess," I scoffed. I was beginning to get irked by the fact that not even she had remembered the most important day of the year. I really hoped she would say something, _anything_, about my turning of age.

Her brow creased and she said, "Anyway…" really slowly. "Do you want to go do something?"

This gave me a little bit of hope. "Something like what?"

"I don't know. We could just… hang out. Or something. Whatever you want."

Natalie was asking me to hang out with her! I let my hope rise up a bit higher.

"Yeah sure. You want to," I knew I was going to regret this, but, "go to the mall?"

She looked surprised. "Alright!" she said, brightening up immensely. "I'll go get Nellie. Wait for us outside."

And with that she turned and walked away, leaving a huge smile on my face. I walked outside and waited for her.

A/N: OOOOOOOooooo things are getting… spicy? I don't know what word to use!

Anyway, the next chapter or two will be about the Danival so be prepared! Give me some ideas! If you want a special booth or ride or activity just tell me and I'll be sure to put it at the Carny!

So what's your favorite pairing? What do you want to happen between certain characters? How do you want someone to get together? What's your favorite 39 clues/CvV book? How do _you _feel about Evan? Who's your favorite character?

SO LONG


	4. Danival (Part one)

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the 39 clues or any characters associated with it!**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Danival (part one)**

**-Dan-**

See, when I said I would regret it- going to the mall that is- I didn't mean that I was going to regret going to the mall in that context. I meant I was going to regret going to the mall with _Natalie._ I meant that I was going to regret going with _her._ That makes sense right?

The mall was super overrated. And crowded. But with Natalie there… well, nothing really mattered anymore…

The reason that I regretted going to the mall with _her, _or anywhere for that matter, is because everything she did just made me like her more. I mean _everything _she did. From trying on ridiculously expensive clothing, to asking me what I thought about something, or even pausing to admire something. It just wasn't fair.

Why should _I _have to spend my _birthday_ with her? Especially when she doesn't even remember it! It's not fair that she's basically perfect and I keep falling more and more for her _every single second_ I spend with her, while she'll never think of me as more than a peasant. I'll always be immature Daniel to her. We could never get past being friends, as much as I want to. And it's killing me to know that.

Natalie, breaking my train of thought, says, "Dan, are you alright?"

_AND THERE IT IS AGAIN! MAKING ME FALL FOR HER BY JUST SPEAKING TO ME! IT'S SO NOT FAIR UGH. She called me Dan though…_

I realized I was frowning. I coughed. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I looked away.

"I don't know. You seem… preoccupied," she said.

"Well I am. I- I don't know. I'm sorry. I've just got a lot on my mind, okay?"

I turned to Natalie again. She was looking longingly at the frozen yogurt place we had stopped in front of.

"I'm just gonna go out on a limb here, but, do you want to get some frozen yogurt?"

Natalie was shocked. "Eat. Frozen. Yogurt? Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea how unhealthy that is? Why would I _ever _want to eat something like that?"

"You've never had it, have you?"

"No."

"Well then what are you waiting for? Come on!" I took her hand- sending shivers down my spine- and pulled her with me to the frozen yogurt shop.

I opened the door, and like a real gentleman, I said, "Ladies first." I bowed and Natalie laughed.

Then I quickly ran ahead of her and grabbed two cups to fill up with yogurt.

"After you, milady," I said.

It was a "do-it-yourself" place and it was huge. There was almost forty different flavors, all ranging from chocolate to bacon. Natalie looked disgusted and amazed all at the same time.

"Ok, let's meet up at the counter where you pay in ten minutes. Ready, set, GO!"

I set out to fill up my cup with crazy flavors like cotton candy, peppermint, cake batter, and triple chocolate chip cookies. I finished it off by adding gummy worms and basically every other candy they had there and I went to find Nat.

She was waiting for me at the counter. "So, what did you- OH MY GOODNESS DAN! YOUR CUP. I-IT'S-"

"Filled to the brim with a bunch of junk? Yeah, it is! What did you get?"

She showed me her barely filled cup and I gasped. "Oh no. Nuh-uh girl. Nat, I am not letting you buy that!"

"What? Why not? What's wrong with it?" she asked.

"EVERYTHING IS WRONG WITH IT! YOU BARELY PUT ANYTHING IN THERE EXCEPT FOR FRUIT!"

"So what? It's MY frozen yogurt!" she whisper-shouted.

"No, give it to me. Now," I said, surprisingly calm. I opened up my palm and Natalie reluctantly placed her cup in my hand.

Her eyes were scared. "Wh-what are you going to do with it?"

I was already walking away. "You'll see! Just stay there!" I shouted over my shoulder.

Not wanting to make Natalie throw up, I filled up the rest of the cup with flavors of fruit that complimented each other, making a four-tier frozen yogurt masterpiece. I walked back to Natalie and her eyes got wide.

"Dan, there is _so _much stuff in that cup. There's no way that that is going to fit inside my stomach…"

"Nat, I know that your stomach is the size of a walnut, but once you try this, you are _so_ not going to be able to put it down! Besides, it's all healthy fruit flavors and fruit toppings. Chillax! Lighten up and eat your pastry!"

"Pastry? I don't know about this… Isabel has-"she stopped herself. "Had never let me have anything unhealthy. Dan, will this make me… _fat?"_

For the first time, it really hit me. Natalie was really self-conscious. Isabel had been making her feel inadequate since she was really small. I mean, sure, I kinda thought she might have been. Because of all the makeup and everything she did to make herself look perfect. But never until this moment had I seen how badly she wanted to be perfect. And so I told her.

"Natalie Kabra, you are perfect. You could gain a million pounds and still manage to amaze everyone- me- with your beauty."

She looked shell-shocked and her eyes watered up.

"Hey hey! No, don't cry! What happened? Are you okay?" I asked, panicked.

"N-nobody has ever… said that to me before…"

Now it was my turn to be shocked. "_What? _How could nobody have ever said that to you before?! Look at you! You're… You're…_ beautiful."_

"I'm what?"

"Beautiful. Now let's go pay for our stuff." And for the third time that day I made myself get goose bumps by holding Natalie's hand and pulling her along after me- this time to the register.

This time though, I didn't let go. I held her hand. AND SHE DIDN'T PULL AWAY! I think this might just be my single most amazing achievement _ever. _It was better than pulling ridiculously thought out pranks. It was better that winning the clue hunt. It was better than re-building Grace's mansion even. _Ok, well, maybe not that…_

_I can't believe I used to hate her. She's so… _

"_Lovely…"_

Nat pulled away. "I'm sorry, _what?" _she said.

_Oh crap. _"Hm, what did you say?"

"I didn't say anything. What did _you _say?" she prowled.

"Oh nothing…"

"Dan, are you aware that the cashier has been asking you to pay for about four minutes now?" she questioned.

I flushed red. "Um, no?"

I handed the guy the money and Nat and I picked up our fro-yo's and walked out.

We walked around for a bit and made meaningless small talk. I was tempted to ask her if she remembered it was my birthday. But, of course, I couldn't. If she had really forgotten it would just make her feel bad. And she's had such a bad day already. I mean, she was at the hospital earlier for God's sake! I couldn't do that to her…

"Nat I know from experience that most stores are not gonna let us in if we're eating this," I said and I rose up my cup to show her what I meant.

"Alright then let's just sit down for a bit. Right there, on that bench, is fine," she pointed out.

We sat down and ate our yogurt in silence. I couldn't help but notice that it was kinda like this morning. I wondered what had caused her to freak out like that.

"Natalie, about this morning, what exactly… happened?" I asked tentatively after we had both finished our frozen yogurts.

Seriously she said, "I honestly don't know Dan. Do you think it could have been something you said that triggered the… you know."

"I guess it could be. I don't know… Hey, come on. Let's get out of here. Maybe we could go somewhere else?"

Natalie's eyes shone. "Dan, we're not leaving here until you let me dress you in multiple different new outfits!"

"Uh no thank you Nat. As _much _as I want to spend hours and hours with you at the mall while you make me your dress-up doll, I'll pass," I said, but Natalie was already dragging me by my sleeve into Tommy Hilfiger.

"Ugh, Natalie! _Tommy Hilfiger? _You have _got_ to be kidding me," I complained.

"No. This is not a joke. Now, hold out your arms. We've got a _lot _of work to do."

_Four and a half hours and five bags of clothing in Dan's arms later…_

"Nat, I cannot believe you made me go through that much torture! Why do I need so much clothes! It's practically burying me! Seriously, this stuff is so heavy I. Am. Going. To. Collapse," Dan said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, you'll thank me one day. Call Nellie to pick us up. We should be going home now. It's almost… seven! Oh my God! We need to go home. NOW!"

"Woah, Nat. What's the rush? Got somewhere to be?"

"Actually, yes, I do have somewhere to be! So call Nellie!"

Dan looked a little surprised- and disappointed- but he called Nellie to pick them up.

It took Nellie about ten minutes to get there. Natalie and Dan sat around in the first uncomfortable silence that they had ever shared. Finally though, Nellie got there and the ten minute car ride home was a little less uncomfortable with her there.

Once they were at the Cahill estate Natalie turned to Dan.

"I'm sorry about that back there. But right now you need to go get dressed, as quick as you can, in something that you bought today!"

"And why, _Natalie,_ would I do that?" Dan told her as they were crossing into the threshold.

She shoved Dan towards the stairs. "For me? Please, just go do it! And meet me down here in ten minutes!"

"Nat what are you-"

"JUST GO!"

And so Dan went into his room and changed.

Meanwhile Natalie ran to her room and pulled a bag from her purse. She had secretly bought something while Dan was trying on clothes. She bought it specifically because in a few minutes they were going to be on their way to the 'Danival' and she needed to look amazing.

She pulled the clothes out of the bag and quickly changed into them. She had bought a zig-zag striped red and white blouse and black high-waisted skinny jeans. She paired it off with her fitted black pea coat by Ralph Lauren and her red velvet flats by Prada. She also added a few rings to her hands, a long necklace, and red lady bug earrings.

_There, _she thought. _Now you're good to go._

She skipped down the stairs, something she would never even _think_ of doing before, and was met with Dan sitting at the base of the steps.

"Hey Dan, I bet Nellie's waiting for us in the car. Let's go!" she exclaimed.

"Wait, where are we going?" Dan asked.

"You'll find out when we get there…" And with that she went out the front door and into the car.

After Dan had also gotten into the car and they had both put their seatbelts on, Natalie said, "Hi Nells!"

"Hey kiddos! Are you all buckled up? We've really got to get going. It's already seven!"

"WHERE ARE WE GOING?" Dan shouted.

Nellie looked back at him. "You'll see once we get there! And I can't get you there if you're shouting in my ear, so please calm down!"

"Fine. I'll stop yelling in your ear," he replied calmly, letting it go.

The whole car ride to whatever place they were going to, Dan was super fidgety and couldn't sit still. He kept asking if they were there yet and if they were going to the mall again.

At last, though, they finally got there. Natalie lead Dan out of the car and put her smooth hand over his eyes. She directed him to the entrance of the 'Danival'.

"Nat… What are you doing? Where are you taking me? What. Is. Going. On?" Dan asked.

Natalie laughed. "You'll see in a second! Now just walk a little bit further."

"Okay Natalie, take your hand off his eyes!" Nellie shouted in excitement.

Once Natalie's hand slowly slid back from shielding Dan's eyes, he gasped. "_No way. No. freaking. Way," _he whispered.

As far as his eyes could see there were roller coasters and games and booths all inside a sign that made Dan pretty much the happiest person in the world.

He smiled. "Danival…"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAN!" shouted his family, who was all standing in front of the entrance.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. "You guys… You guys did all of this… For me?" He was in shock.

"Of course we did! You deserved it!" Amy said to him. "And you'll never believe who planned it all out and made it happen!"

"Who? Do I even want to know?"

"Twas' my main man, Ian!" He heard Jonah call out.

Dan looked surprised. "No way. You guy's shouldn't have! Ian thank you so much! How the _heck _did you guys manage to do this?"

"Oh you know, Cahill connections! It was really no biggie!" Madison said.

"Alright alright!" said Hamilton. "Enough chitchat! Dan, GET YOUR DANIVAL ON!"

And then Fiske cut the ribbon and let everyone in. There was a bunch of people from Dan's school there and people he had seen around town so it must have been open to everyone. As far as Dan could tell, it was ninja themed, which made him want to hug every single person he saw walk past him. The Ferris wheel was shaped like a ninja star. The people behind the kissing booth were wearing ninja costumes covering everything but their mouth and eyes. So were the attendants for the rides and games. Speaking of games, they were all different spinoffs of normal carnival games except with a ninja theme. He swore he would praise Ian once he got home. THIS WAS AWESOME!

"So what do you want to do? It is your_ birthday_ after all!" said a familiar voice behind him.

"Natalie! You knew the whole time that it was my birthday! Why didn't you say something?"

"I was ordered to pretend that I had completely forgotten and to make it as convincing as possible! Hey, you have no idea how hard it was! I'm so sorry if I made your birthday a bad day. You shouldn't have had to spend it with me…"

"Nat, _what are you talking about?_ My birthday was awesome! And spending it with you wasn't half bad!"

"Oh, thanks I guess…"

They were walking by now and every now and then some random person would stop them to wish Dan a happy birthday.

"So, do you want to go on the Ferris wheel? It looks s_o _cool!" Dan asked her.

"Whatever you want to do, I'm up for it! It's your birthday!"

Then, right before they reached the Ferris wheel, a girl stopped them. A really _pretty _girl stopped them.

"Hey Dan! I heard it was your birthday!" the girl chirped.

"Who. Is. _She?_" Natalie said through gritted teeth.

"Natalie, this is Claire! Claire, meet Nat. And yes, it is my birthday! I'm officially 14 now! I can finally become a ninja!"

"Cool cool! Dan you're so funny! It's so nice to meet you _Natalie,_" Claire said in distaste and then turned back to Dan. "Anyway, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to hang out sometime. Maybe later tonight? We could ride one of the rides or something!"

"Yeah or maybe not," Natalie said under her breath, but Dan heard her.

"Yeah that'd be cool! If I see you then yeah, we totally could. But if you'll excuse me, Nat and I were going to ride the Ferris wheel." He coughed.

"Oh! Are you guys, like," she made a gesture, "together?"

"WHAT?! NO! OF COURSE NOT," they both said at the same time.

"Would you mind if I joined you guys then? I'd hate to ride it alone," Claire said, looking at Dan all cutesy-like. Natalie almost growled. She was fuming.

"Yes, I would mind. I'm a little claustrophobic. So, bye," Natalie responded. _And it _sucked _meeting you, _she thought.

"O-okay bye," said Claire, obviously disappointed.

"Sorry about that Claire. Well, I'll see you later!"

Dan turned and ran over to Natalie, who basically had smoke coming out from her ear. There was obvious tension in the air.

"Hey sorry about th-" Dan started.

Natalie cut him off. "Whatever. Let's just get on the stupid ride."

"Nata-"

"Save it _Daniel_. I said _whatever,"_ she warned.

They both got into one of the car things and it slowly rose up, stopping to let people on and off every few seconds.

"I really am sorry Natalie," Dan said after a few seconds.

She sighed, her anger quickly dissolving. "No, I'm the one who should be sorry. I'm just a little upset."

"Why are you upset? Did I do something?"

"No _you_ didn't do anything. I guess meeting Claire just… unhinged me. She likes you, you know?"

"Claire? Claire does _not _like me! And why does it matter?"

"She does Daniel. You'd be a fool not to see it- no offense. Has anyone ever told you that you're extremely dense?" she questioned.

"So what if she likes me? I was never actually going to go on a ride with her anyway. I was just being polite. And none taken, I've heard worse. By you. Before."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I've already forgiven you for all that," Dan said sympathetically.

"Well I'm sorry about everything. About how evil I was before. About everything I was forced to do to you during the clue hunt. Everything."

She mumbled something that Dan couldn't hear.

"Nat, I know that you've changed and that you regret everything that happened. That's all I need… You didn't answer my question."

"What question?"

"Why does it matter if Claire likes me?" Dan peered.

"Do you like her?"

"No, I really don't," he said truthfully. _She's not you, _he thought. And for the fourth time he asked, "Why. Does. It. Matter?"

"I don't know…" And again she said something that Dan couldn't hear and he put his head down in thought.

"Natalie… Nat… I've been meaning to tell you this… I'm not sure how to put it… and… um," he said to the floor.

Then Dan looked up. Natalie was staring at him seriously. Dan didn't know why he did it. Maybe it was a spur of the moment thing. Maybe it was just because he had wanted to do it for a long time now, doing this thing that he had only dreamed about doing.

He leaned in and to his surprise, so did Natalie. He was aware of everything around him, as was she. They could hear the people on the ground more than 200 feet below them. They could feel the slight breeze in the cold, dry air. They could feel their hearts beating fast against their chests. They were mere centimeters from each other when the gondola they were in suddenly lurched forward and then thrash violently, making them jump away from each other.

Natalie's eyes were wide and she yelled out "AHH!" as the capsule shook.

It was as if the entire wheel was falling apart, which it might have been. _I need to get Natalie off this thing safely, _was Dan's only though. He didn't care if he died doing it, he would make sure both of her feet reached the ground safely. And this was where their madrigal training kicked in.

"Okay, I think maybe the wheel is having technical difficulties," said Dan, as calmly as he could muster.

"Nah, you think? Of course it's having technical difficulties! How are we supposed to get off?" Natalie shouted.

"We could… climb? Or climb downwards ahahha," Dan suggested.

Natalie considered it. "Do you think that would work?"

"If we're careful, sure," he answered.

"Ok. We're actually doing this?"

"Yes, follow me."

Dan started to climb out of the car and grabbed onto the bars supporting it. Natalie proceeded to follow him and he grabbed her hand to help her. Being as careful as they could be, they started down.

Suddenly Natalie lost her balance and slipped.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Before she could get very far, though, Dan grabbed one of her flailing arms. With a steel grip, he managed to pull her back up and she threw her arms over his head. They tried being more careful.

Finally, they made it down. Natalie thanked Dan a gazillion more times for saving her life.

As soon as their feet touched the ground, like Dan had hoped they would, people swarmed them, Amy as the leader.

She tackled them. "OH MY GOD! ARE YOU GUYS OKAY?!"

_To be continued…_

* * *

A/N: Hey guys! How have your lives been?! Sorry I took so long to update, I've been super busy! I became a citizen yesterday and it was also my dad's birthday! What did you do this weekend, even though it's not over yet.

Tomorrow I have a singing recital and I'm freaking out! Do any of you guys sing or play any instruments? If so, how long have you been playing them? Are you any good? What's your favorite thing to sing/play.

How did you feel about this chapter? The next one will be all Ian and Amy, because this one was all Natalie and Dan. Surprises are coming, so watch out!

I know Jake isn't a part of this story but, how do you feel about him?

Ew, Claire, stop getting in the way of my Natan!

**SPECIAL THANKS: **

**Lovely SOS **for support and the idea for the frozen yogurt! She is the coolest most awesome person ever, so be her friend!

**Paris Cahill **for the idea of having the Ferris wheel in the shape of a ninja star!

**AzulaTano **for requesting a kissing booth! Only one dollar guys and the profits go to charity!


	5. Danival (Part two)

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the 39 clues or any characters associated with it!**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Danival (Part two)**

Amy was running as fast as her legs would carry her. She had been hearing whispers about some technical difficulties in the Ferris wheel. But as soon as she heard Dan's name, she freaked the freak out.

It wasn't something Amy usually did, but throw her brother into the equation and she would do basically anything.

She had just made the clearing, when she saw Natalie and her-thank god-brother, Dan, touch down on the grass safely.

She had gained a tail while she was running around in her course to the wheel so when she looked behind her there were a _lot _of people. But she didn't stop running until she got to Dan and Natalie and nearly knocked them to the ground.

"OH MY GOD! ARE YOU GUYS OKAY?!" Amy said when she pulled back.

"Woah Amy, we're obviously okay if we're like standing right in front of your face. _Calm down,"_ Dan told her.

Natalie had a faraway look in her eyes and didn't say anything, but Amy could see that for the most part, she was fine. She looked really confused and thoughtful with a slight hint of anger but Amy had no idea what would cause her to look like that and since she couldn't very well ask, she let it go.

Amy was so happy she could have cried.

After making sure that everyone else on the ride had gotten off safely and had promised refunds the place went back to normal and people resumed their course to different lines for rides. Amy was super relieved and she went somewhere quiet so she could call her boyfriend, Evan Tolliver.

She dialed his number and he didn't pick up so she called him again. On the fifth ring, he picked up.

"Evan, hey! So, are you coming or not?... Oh, so you're almost here?... Ok, I'll wait outside… Yeah, see you in a few minutes," Amy said.

She walked to the entrance and stood outside. She wished that she had brought a comfier jacket or something that would have kept her warmer. By the time Evan drove up and stepped out of his car, she was shivering furiously.

Once Evan saw her, he was immediately worried. He took of his jacket as fast as a heartbeat and draped it around her shoulders. He honestly cared about her _so_ much.

"Amy! You're freezing!" Evan said.

"I know… Next time I promise I'll bring a thicker jacket. I'm pretty sure my hair is growing icicles."

Evan shook his head. "Amy, the weather forecast clearly stated that it was probably going to snow tonight and you go out _to a carnival _in the middle of the winter in a thin sweater and no jacket. Are you _crazy?_"

"I completely forgot to even _check_ the weather forecast, much less put on a big coat. I was too busy planning and getting this ready for Dan!"

"Oh! About Dan… I got him," he pulled out a box wrapped in black wrapping paper with ninja designs printed on it, "this."

"Woah! Where did you get this wrapping paper?"

"I made it on my computer and printed it out," he replied.

"Alright just give that to me. Do you want to go do something? Eat or go on a ride or something?" Amy asked him.

"Yeah let's just walk around and talk and play some of the games," he suggested.

And so Amy and Evan started walking. They didn't really have any place in mind. They were just wandering. A moment later, Evan's phone buzzed. He pulled out his phone and Amy realized that he was just slightly angling it away from her so she couldn't see it.

After he put his phone back in his pocket she asked, "Who was that?"

He fidgeted. "Oh, nobody. It was… nobody…"

"A-alright."

Amy stopped in her tracks. She could feel a rush of emotions coursing through her: Pain, loneliness, anger, sadness. _Why was Evan being so secretive? He's been acting really strangely for the past few weeks. We barely even see each other anymore. What happened to us? _She thought.

And then it hit her.

Evan didn't understand. He never would. He didn't know what it was like being a Cahill. He didn't know what it was like seeing all those horrible things. He didn't know what it was like being part of a family where someone is trying to kill you every time you turn a corner. A family involved in so many good and bad things that helped shape civilization. He didn't understand at all.

Amy had felt so glad when he had helped her and her family out during the Vesper situation. Amy had felt like they would last forever. She had thought they would eventually get married or something. But she didn't really want that. She wished, so badly, that she could still see herself as Mrs. Amy Tolliver. But she just _couldn't._ They had been growing apart for a long time.

She knew Evan had also been very distraught about what had happened with her family. But he could never understand why it happened. He could never understand how it felt. He didn't know half the stuff that she had been through, along with the rest of her relatives. He wasn't meant to be a part of her life like that.

Amy could remember so vividly all the great times they had had together: The day that she had called him and he'd said he was glad she called, their first date, their second date, how happy he had made her feel. She remembered so fondly the times that he had called her beautiful and made her blush, the day she stopped stuttering around him, and the time her had picked her up for a romantic dinner under the stars. She wished she could relive those moments. But it was too late.

She had let her feelings get out of control and now she feared that she no longer cared for him how she used to.

Sure, Amy loved him. But not in the way that she should have. She didn't feel as strongly for him as she used to, and it was killing her inside to know that she would be responsible for heartbreak.

"Amy what are you doing?" Evan asked.

Amy felt her face growing warm and her vision got blurry.

Evan immediately panicked. "Amy! What happened? Why are you crying? What's wrong?"

She silently cursed herself for what she was about to do.

"Evan… I c-can't. I can't… _I can't do this anymore,"_ she managed to get out. Her face was now flushed and she needed to blow her nose.

"Can't do _what?"_

"I can't… I can't… _I j-just can't Evan. This,"_ she pointed to her and him, "is not working out."

He felt his heart drop. His expression was one of confusion and tragedy. But Evan didn't really know the tragedy she had experienced. They weren't good together. At least, not anymore.

Evan had always felt that he could talk to Amy about anything. He spent a moment reminiscing the good- no, _great-_ times they had been through together. He had lost sleep over her. She was his whole life. He had already planned the way he was going to propose to her in a few years. He had thought that they would last forever.

He felt that he could confide his deepest fears with her. He felt as if when they were together, the whole world stopped.

He loved her _so much._

_But she's not happy anymore, _he thought. _If you love her, really love her, let her go._

It was as if Amy could read his thoughts.

"Evan, I love you. I love you s-so, _so,_ much. But just… just not like I used to. I am so_,"_ she gulped," _so _sorry. I'm sorry for everything I put you through. I'm the worst person ever! You helped me out through so much. You helped me save my family, and I owe my whole life to you for that. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. _I'm so sorry Evan. _But I can't do this_-us- _anymore."

Evan made up his mind in that very moment. He knew that she loved him. But not like that. They were never going to get married and live a happy life. That wasn't set for the future since the beginning. He had just been too caught up in the moment to see it. They were too different. Their relationship would have never worked out. Evan loved her too. He knew what the right thing to do was, even though it meant breaking his own heart.

"Amy it's fine. Please don't be sorry. I love you too," Evan was tearing up now. "I understand now. I understand what you mean about us. We're not good together, and I get that. Just, please, never forget how much I love you."

Evan Tolliver cupped her small face in his hands and pressed a soft kiss, as light as moth's wings, to her forehead. With that, he turned around and walked away. For good.

They might still be friends. They might keep in touch. But they would never be together like he wanted them to be. They wouldn't have a romantic future.

But Evan was okay with it, _as long as Amy Cahill was happy._

* * *

A/N: OKAY I AM SO SORRY. I HAVE BEEN SO BUSY. BUT FROM HERE ON OUT I DO SOLEMLY SWEAR THAT I WILL NOT LET IT GET THIS FAR BETWEEN MY UPLOADING PERIODS AND WILL TRY TO UPLOAD ONCE A DAY.

Anyway, what did you think of this chapter? I know it was pretty short but IDK. It felt like it was the right place to end it at, in my opinion, of course. You may disagree.

Leave any constructive criticism as a review or anything else like ideas and whatnot. I don't know how your mind works!

So, how has your week been so far? How's school? Do you like school? What's your favorite class or activity?

**SPECIAL THANKS:**

**Lovely SOS **has seriously been so supportive and has been literally feeding me ideas. OK SO READ HER STUFF IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY B/C IT'S GREAT AND YOU WILL LOVE IT.


	6. Danival (Part three)

A/N: HEY HERE I AM WITH THE THIRD INSTALLMENT OF DANIVAL. Part three hahahahahah it's getting to be too much! I love you all! I am aware that I didn't update yesterday b/c I suck -_-

But yeah, here ya go and stuff

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the 39 clues or any characters associated with it!**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Danival (Part three)**

-Natalie-

As soon as the crowd had dispersed I started fast walking away from Dan.

Whatever it was that _happened_ back there at the Ferris wheel… Well, I just did _not _want to deal with it.

We had almost kissed.

We had almost _kissed._

It was simply preposterous! I mean, it was _Dan_ for goodness sake! He's completely… silly. He's always joking around and playing pranks on people. And he's always doing weird things! He probably doesn't even have good hygiene-_well, then why does he always smell _so good_ all the time?_ But, he makes a mess of everything he touches!

Still, that doesn't explain why I feel weak in the knees whenever he looks at me with his shinning green eyes and why whenever he touches me-even just accidentally brushing against me- I get goose bumps. That was _so _not normal.

The truth is that Dan's actually a pretty great guy. But, I just can't see myself with him.

It wasn't that he was a "peasant." In fact, he was as rich as I was now.

It wasn't that he was a slob sometimes.

It wasn't that he couldn't ever be serious. After all, he _did _rush me to the hospital this morning.

It was that Dan Cahill was a great person. He was a genuinely nice guy.

And that was the problem.

He didn't have any evil intentions when he was near me. He didn't have any plans up his sleeve. He was so _good. _

And I was so _not. _

I'm a terrible person. I scheme and I make plans to destroy people. I'm a _bad person._ And Dan was the complete opposite.

He _helped _people. He didn't _kill _them.

I was so angry with myself.

I could hear Dan trying to catch up with me and I walked faster. I was almost running. He called my name and I started running.

After five minutes I stopped by the place where they were giving people elephant rides because I had to catch my breath. It was cold and windy and my throat hurt.

Now Dan was right behind me. "Natalie!"

"Nat, _what the heck_?!" he yelled.

"_What do you want?"_ I screeched as I wheeled around to face him.

"Why did you run away from me? Are you okay?"

Letting my anger get the better of me I said, "I DON'T KNOW DAN! AM I EVER OKAY ANYMORE?"

"No. You haven't been the same since we rescued you from the vicious clasps of the Vesp-"

And this time I could feel it. It was as if my body was reacting negatively-_very_ negatively- to that word. _Vespers. _What had they done to me? I could feel myself lurching forward and backward. My body was shaking angrily and my vision blurred.

I heard my name shouted again.

"NATALIE!"

The next time I opened my eyes I was on the ground looking up at the terrified jade green eyes of Dan Cahill.

-Ian-

I was walking around minding my own business when a sad looking Alan-or was it Ethan?-walked by me looking at the floor with his head glued to the ground. He didn't seem to realize he had just walked past me and interrupted my deep thinking. I swear, that bloke better watch out or I swear I am going to…

I resumed my thinking. About Amy…

She was just… she was so… _perfect_. She was smart and funny. She was nice too. And she was _beautiful. _I could never forgive myself for what I had done to her during the clue hunt. I had not only hurt her, the most caring and humble person in the world, I had hurt myself. I had honestly liked her. A lot. I didn't _want _to hurt her.

It bothered me too, that I could like someone like her. She was so different from me, and she was also exactly like me.

It was the strangest thing.

But I liked it at the same time. I liked how she made me feel amazing-even though I hated having feeling so _strong_. She could bring up my bad day by simply _looking _at me. I felt like I could do anything.

It was astonishing.

Suddenly I heard a sob break through the other noises of the carnival I had planned.

I walked around the corner.

_Speaking of Amy…_

"_Amy?" _Ian called.

Amy looked up. _"I-Ian?_

She looked at him incredulously, her tear-filled eyes wide and scared and a little puffy from crying. Her face was slightly red too. She was sitting at a picnic table by herself.

Ian was appalled. _What could make her cry like this? _He thought.

She sniffled.

"Amy! _What happened? _What's wrong?" he asked.

"N-noth-" She took a deep breath and continued, "nothing happened."

"Yeah ok. I'm definitely going to believe that lie. Who did this? What kind of _bloody person_ would do this to you?"

"E-Evan-"

Ian's fists balled up in anger. "_Tolliver did this to you? I swear if I ever see his face I'm going to-"_

She stopped him. "Ian! No, it was my fault! I did it!"

"_Did what? _Amy what did you _do?"_

"We… I broke up with him," she gasped, her voice cracking, crying again.

Ian's face slowly softened and his brows furrowed, his fists relaxed. "You… you broke up with him?"

"Yeah…" Amy sighed.

"Oh…"

"Yeah," she repeated.

Amy started crying again just thinking about it. She willed herself to be strong and to STOP crying. Ian was standing like two feet away from her! Just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, he shows up and witnesses her crying.

Ian walked over to her and sat down. He gently put a warm arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. They just sat like that for a few minutes while Amy-surprisingly-put her head on Ian's shoulder and cried.

Ian didn't care about how his jacket and shirt were wet with Amy's tears and cold because of the wind blowing by. It was supposed to snow tonight.

All that mattered was that he was _helping_ her. For the first time in his life, he was helping Amy Cahill and not destroying her piece by piece. If it was his job to help her get back on her feet, he would do anything.

He had learned not to deny his feelings for her anymore. He admitted it to himself fully years ago. He knew that there was absolutely no point in denying it. It was always going to be there. He had called her and said that he would visit. He was going to tell her. And then Isabel had to screw it all up. _Some kind of mother _she _was… _he thought.

Then after a fairly long time had passed, Amy started to return to normal. Her eyes were no longer glassy and misty. Her nose was slowly starting to lose its redness. She started shivering, her body remembering it was outside in the cold air.

She was still wearing Evan's jacket.

She looked up at Ian. Ian looked down at her.

"Amy, love, are you alright?" he asked.

"I… I think I am," she responded.

"Come on. Let's get out of here."

"What? Now?" she inquired.

"Yes _now_," he said with a small smile.

"Ian?"

"Yes love?"

Amy smiled. "Thank you."

-Evan-

Evan had been sitting in his car for forty-five minutes. He hadn't even turned it on, meaning that he was freezing his butt off while Amy had his jacket.

She had just dumped him.

_She. Had. Just. Dumped. Him._

They had been going steady for like a year now and she had just _dumped him_.

Evan felt terrible. It was as if his life had been ripped up into thousands of tiny pieces that no matter how hard he tried, he could never glue back together.

Being stuck in his stupid car, he felt claustrophobic. But even though he felt so constrained in his piece-of-junk car, he couldn't bare to leave. He just didn't have the energy to move anymore.

She was-or had been- his whole world. Now she was gone. Just _gone._

Evan had hoped that they would have eventually gotten married when they were older. He was still stuck in that time in their relationship where he thought that they would never break up.

Now, post-breakup, he felt miserable.

He felt his phone vibrate in his jean pocket and he pulled it out.

The little screen read: _Tolliver, Evan. You are needed at the command center. Effective immediately. _

_Oh, crap, _he thought.

He started up his car with his stiff fingers and drove too fast to where the location of the command center was. He had completely forgotten about the meeting.

_They're. Going. To. Kill. Me._

* * *

AN: How did you feel about this chapter?

What do you like to do when you write? Do you listen to music? Any specific music? Do you like it to be completely silent? Do you wear a certain article of clothing? Do you write at a certain location?

What is your favorite band? Favorite song? How many concerts have you been to and to see who? What are you interested in?

Are you by any chance interested in Keri Smith's books? Such as: Mess, This is not a Book, and Wreck This Journal? Because I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THEM AND KERI SMITH IS A GENIUS.


	7. Midnight Madness

A/N: Ok I'm not sure if this is like OOC but I like how it turned out and it was cute so yeah. Oh and sorry about Ian…

Ok have fun reading this and my only hope is that it makes you feel something, whether it be happiness or sadness (hopefully not that) or anger or whatever. Just feel something ok?

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the 39 clues or any characters associated with it!**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Midnight Madness **

**-**Natalie-

Natalie Kabra awoke to find herself lying on a cot covered with white sheets inside a cold room. The first thing she saw when she turned her head to the right was Dan slumping down in a chair next to her bed. His head was in his hands. When she turned to the left, she saw nothing. No other people. No plants in fancy pots. Nothing.

Natalie figured out fairly quickly that she had had another "episode" like the one this morning and was at the hospital again. She wondered why that _word_ caused her to freak out like this. She couldn't very well be making visits to the hospital daily!

She shifted a little and Dan's head immediately shot up from its previous position.

"Nat?" he asked. His eyes were wide and full of worry.

Natalie smiled. "Dan."

All of her previous confusion from the past night rearranged itself and started making sense once Natalie admitted to herself that she was really happy he was there with her. She was happy that he was the first person she saw when she woke up. She liked him.

She liked Dan Cahill.

Wow.

Oh god, she was as bad as her brother…

For the past two weeks, ever since she got rescued from _them_, she had noticed Dan being a little nicer. Or maybe he had always been that nice and Natalie had just never noticed.

Something about him lured her to him. They had been talking more and hanging out more often since then. He made her feel… safe.

He made her laugh too, something that was extremely hard to do.

But Natalie was a very persnickety girl. And Dan… well Dan was very unfussy and unconcerned. He could be careless at times. She knew that yes, he also _could_ be serious at times too. He could be _so _confusing to her. And it surprised her because no one was confusing to Natalie. She could read people like she could read books.

They were too different from each other and it would never work. So Natalie just let it drop. They would never be together and he would never know how she was beginning to feel. She could never tell him. If there was one thing the great Natalie Kabra could _not_ deal with, it was rejection. And with Dan, she was bound to face it. So she pushed it away. She willed herself to stop liking him.

But just as she had come to her decision, Dan's face lit up in a smile and he jumped up from the chair he had been sitting in. He threw himself on top of her and lifted her up in a bear hug. It made Natalie feel warm and extremely _happy._

Yeah, no, she definitely still liked him. It would take a lot of effort and about a billion years to get over him.

"Oh my god, you're alive!" he exclaimed.

Natalie smiled again. "Well of course I'm _alive _Daniel! I couldn't very well just cease to exist, could I?"

He laughed. "And leave me all alone with our crazy family? I was _so_ not gonna let that happen!"

"Yes hopefully it never comes to that…" she told him. "Dan, what time is it?"

"It's midnight…"

"You've been here for four hours?!" she gasped.

"Well yeah. _We've _been here for four hours… You didn't wake up at first and Nellie and Fiske were here earlier with me but I told them they could go because it might take a long time. They really didn't want to but I kinda made them. They looked _really _tired," he said.

"Dan! You didn't have to wait with me! Have you been here the whole time?"

He nodded.

"Daniel! You must be exhausted! Have you slept at all?"

"No? I've kinda just been… sitting here…"

Natalie sighed. What was she going to do with this boy? She shook her head. "Has anything else happened?"

"Well…" he started. "Amy and Ian are kinda… missing."

"Amy. And. Ian. Are. What?"

"Missing?" Dan repeated but this time less sure.

"How are they missing?!"

"Neither of them is answering their phone and none of us know where they are," he explained. "I'm sure they'll come home soon though. It's really unlike Amy to just disappear with no warning…"

"How soon can I leave? We have to look for them!"

"Nat, you can't leave yet. Not for a little while," he told her.

"How long is a little while?" she asked.

"Probably just until tomorrow. I'll stay with you if you want," he said.

She smiled like it seemed she always did when he was near. "You will? That'd be… really great actually."

"Of course I will! Nat you have _no idea _how worried I was when you collapsed and passed out. I was fuh-reaking out! Ask anybody that was there! You seriously need to stop that!" he teased.

_He was worried?_ She thought.

"Dan, maybe you should get some rest?" she suggested.

"What? No! I'm wide awake! Besides, you _just _woke up!" he protested.

Natalie flipped her hair. Trying to sound as serious as she could muster she said, "Well, if you insist. I mean, I know I'm amazing. How could you resist?"

She and Dan locked eyes. After a few seconds they both burst out laughing. Dan knew Natalie didn't really mean it. It was a bit of a joke between them because Dan knew she had changed since the clue hunt. It might have been something she said seriously before but now… she wasn't the same.

Natalie couldn't help but feel as if some of that was Dan's fault. He had been one of the people that changed her for the better. If he hadn't been such a good friend, Natalie probably wouldn't be how she was now. His personality radiated off him in such a large quantity, it was a little contagious.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," she said finally.

"No, it's cool," he laughed again. "Are you hungry?"

"A little," she admitted.

"Fresh fruit?" he asked, thinking about the morning.

"A brownie," she stated, shocking him.

"Who are you," he pointed at her, "and what have you done with my Natalie?"

'_My Natalie.' He called me his! _She thought with a small smile.

"Oh please! It's still me. Now shoo. Go get me a brownie!" she urged.

"O-Kay if you say so." He shrugged and a little reluctantly left.

Natalie was left thinking about him and how sweet he could be. When Dan walked back in, she was in the exact same position he had left her in, staring at the door.

"Your knight in shining armor has arrived to bestow a delicacy known only as a triple fudge brownie to you, her majesty," he said and then bowed and took three long strides to reach the edge of her hospital bed and sat down.

Natalie broke open the wrapper of her 'delicacy' and broke it in half.

"Do you want some?" she asked him.

"Well, of course, milady," he said.

They ate their brownie halves in silence.

"That pastry was delicious, milady, if I do say so myself," Dan said.

Natalie made a scissor motion with her hand. "Dan, cut it out."

They both cracked up again because it was so out of character for Natalie to even be making jokes in the first place.

Dan's laugh made Natalie's heart swell up with longing and she wished in that moment that they hadn't known each other before. She wished they could meet again in different lives as they are now without being related and having an extremely crazy family who tried to kill you often. She wished that they were two completely normal people with nothing to keep them apart.

But that could never happen and in an instant that thought made Natalie's mood darken.

Dan seemed to notice and he tried his hardest to cheer her up.

"Nat, have I ever told you the story of how I rescued my neighbor's cat who got stuck in a tree?" he asked.

"No. Do I even want to know what happened?" she said curiously.

"Probably not! But I'm gonna tell you anyway!"

"Alright fine! Go on, I'm all ears…" She waited for the joke to sink in. Dan's face lit up and he laughed again.

Without asking for permission he got up, scooted Natalie over, and laid down on her bed next to her. He turned his body so he was facing her.

Before she could protest, Dan said, "Ok ok so without further ado I present to you the story of how I, Dan Cahill, rescued a baby cat from a forty foot tall red maple tree… I was walking along the land when a disturbed cry reached my ears."

Natalie turned to face him wanting to hear his story better. It was _definitely_ a better view than looking up at the ceiling was.

"It sounded like Nancy, our cat-loving neighbor. I spun around and ran as fast as I could to her house. 'Ma'am what's wrong' I asked her. 'It's Buttercup, I'm afraid she's climbed up that tree right there and she can't get down' she told me. I accepted her challenge and-"

"DAN! Speed it up a little bit please?" Natalie reprimanded.

"Sorry," he said smiling widely. "Ok, where was I? Oh yes, the cat… I, being the amazing and good-hearted person that I am, agreed to get her cat down from the tall tree. I ran inside and got a ladder. A tall ladder. Amy was all like 'Hey whatcha doin?' and I was like 'Rescuing a cat what does it look like I'm doing?' I ran back outside with a little difficulty, because, you know, carrying a ladder is hard work. And I opened up the ladder at the base of the tree and started climbing upwards. Then-"

"DAN! Please," she huffed. "Get on with the story."

"Ok, why didn't you ask sooner? Geez! Long story short I was bleeding a lot by the time I got back home. But at least I saved the cat!"

"You mean to say," Natalie said, fuming, "that you took twenty minutes to tell me a story that had absolutely no point to it?"

"Well, yeah. _Duh,_" Dan replied.

Natalie frowned but a smile was tugging at her lips. _He could be so silly sometimes!_

Dan took her face in his hands and with two fingers turned her frown upside down.

By this time Natalie couldn't hold it in any longer and she laughed loudly, an uncommon reaction from Natalie Kabra.

Dan joined in and soon they were both clutching their stomachs whilst laughing silently.

After a while their laugher died down and they were both suddenly aware of how tired they were. It was probably already one A.M.

They were also aware of how close they had gotten. There was barely any space between them now.

Taking advantage of the situation, Natalie gently laid her head down on his shoulder and fell asleep.

And after god knows how long, Dan finally fell asleep too. His head was on top of hers and happy thoughts swarmed his brain.

* * *

A/N: Yeah it took me three days to write this and I'm sorry for being terrible

But I already started writing the next chapter so woohoo

Did you like this chapter? Natan is amazing and just :D ok

What are your interests? What are you hoping to read about in this story? If you want a specific thing included and I like your idea, I'll make sure to include it somewhere 3

Guys if you haven't already gone to read whatever the mind of **Lovely SOS** has created, GO! And why haven't you? She helps a lot. Yeah.

Ok, waiting for a chapter from one of your favorite stories to come out is literally like waiting for the next book from your favorite series to come out. IT HURTS.


	8. Skating over thin lines

A/N: CHAPTER EIGHT AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! There will be two parts to this just BTW! But it won't have the same chapter name. It'll just be…. Ok whatever nevermind….

Enjoy!

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the 39 clues or any characters associated with it!**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Skating over thin lines**

-Amy-

We pulled up after a silent half hour drive at a small roller blading rink. As it came into view I gasped.

"Wait a minute," I said. "Ian Kabra likes to _roller blade?_"

"I never said that!" he proclaimed.

"Then, _why are we here?_" I asked.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I thought you'd enjoy it?"

"Well, you were completely right! Dan and I have been here before. It's really fun," I said. We had come a really long time ago. Before the Vespers happened… "Evan… Evan brought me here once."

"Amy, we can go somewhere else if you want," he suggested.

"No. I like this place and I don't think anyone or anything could ruin that. Besides," I paused, "where else are we supposed to go at eight thirty at night? Everything else will be closed soon anyway."

"Right. Okay, let's go inside then," he said.

"Well they're closing soon so we better hurry."

We entered the building and walked to the counter. A lady with a nametag that read 'Paula' was standing behind it reading a magazine.

Ian cleared his throat. Paula looked up.

"Well, hello there! How may I help you?" she asked them.

"Could we have two pairs of skates please? A ten in men's and a six and a half in women's please," Ian ordered.

"Ian, how the _heck_ do you know my shoe size?" I questioned.

"You sat criss-cross in the car and it says the size on the bottom of your shoe," he declared.

I wondered how he could pick up on little things like that. I could barely tell time and he was going off about how he noticed the smallest details EVER. It was so like him.

Paula handed us our shoes and we sat down on two benches facing each other to put them on. I was glad that mine were the in-line skates. I had previously had really bad luck with the other kind.

Then, my shoelaces got tangled up together.

Maybe I just had really bad luck all the time.

Ian saw me struggling to get them on and he skated over, his shoes already on his feet, and kneeled down in front of me.

"I-Ian, what are you d-doing?" I asked, getting nervous at how close he was.

"What does it look like I'm doing, love? I'm helping you tie your shoes," he teased.

He gently untangled the laces and swiftly tied them, resulting in what you would call a "masterpiece."

How he managed to make even _that _seem proper was beyond me.

"Thanks," I whispered.

"Don't mention it," he replied.

We slowly made our way into the rink and I, being my clumsy self, tripped over my own feet. I would have fallen if it wasn't for Ian catching me at the last second and helping me straighten up again. I really needed to be more careful.

Then a thought came to my head…

"Ian, why are you doing this?" I asked.

"Doing what, Amy?"

"You know, _this,"_ I said as I gestured to our surroundings. "It's not like you to care about other people."

By the look on his face, I knew I'd struck hard with my last statement.

"N-no, I didn't mean it like-"

He cut me off. "Amy I get it. I'm not the type of person who does kind things. It's okay. It's not like everybody else doesn't think so…"

"Ian, I don't think that. I'm sorry. I really didn't mean it how it sounded. I was just trying to say that you usually don't go out of your way to make people happy, you know? Other than Natalie," I told him.

"Amy, you don't have to pretend to think better of me. I know what people think about me and how they feel about me. You shouldn't have to hide it. I know I'm a terrible person," he said.

"You're not a terrible person! I've never seen anyone work half as hard as you did to get Natalie home! You even went to see your mother for goodness sake! You are not terrible."

"Amy," he started.

"No Ian. I'm not stopping 'til you admit that that's not how you really see yourself! You're not a bad person, okay?"

"Okay, okay, I'm not a terrible person," he said, finally.

"Good. Now let's skate," I said.

We rolled into the rink and this time I didn't trip. After a few moments of silent skating Ian looked at me again.

"Look, Amy, I'm really sorry. More sorry than I could ever actually explain to you in words. More sorry than I ever have been in my entire life," he said.

"Sorry? Sorry for what?" I asked.

"Sorry… Sorry for everything. I'm sorry for the way I used to treat you and your brother. I'm sorry for everything I did during the clue hunt. I shouldn't have hurt you like that, and I'm truly sorry about everything," he explained.

It took a moment for what he was saying to sink in. _Ian Kabra was apologizing? Was it opposites day?_

But then I could see it. And for probably the first time since I had met Ian Kabra, I could see sorrow reflected in his eyes. I knew that he had regretted everything before but this just made it that much more real.

"Ian, I already forgave you for all of that. I know that you're sorry," I told him.

He looked… surprised. It was as if he genuinely didn't believe that anyone could ever forgive someone else for acts like the ones he committed.

"I didn't think you'd be so quick to forgive. I thought you hated me!" he admitted.

"Okay, would I really be _here _with you right now if I hated your guts? No, I wouldn't be. If I hated you, I'd be avoiding you and staying as far away from you as possible, silly!" I laughed.

"Oh, okay then," he said, with a shy smile on his face.

"I can _so _not believe you actually apologized! Ian Kabra said sorry! It's a miracle!" I shouted.

"Amy, keep your voice down! They're going to throw us out!" he reprimanded.

I surprised us both by saying, "Let's just leave then. Right now. Let's go somewhere we don't know anyone. Let's go somewhere that's really… cool?"

I had no idea what had come over me. I felt really happy. I felt alive!

We skated over to the benches we had previously sat at and took off out roller skates. I put on my shoes as fast as possible and nearly ran to the counter. I gave the skates back to Paula and looked at Ian expectantly.

Ian laughed and walked to the counter, giving Paula his skates too.

"Your wish is my command, love," he said.

As I walked out the door I shouted back at him.

"DON'T CALL ME LOVE, IAN KABRA!"

* * *

A/N: Ok so what did you think?! I know it's been like four days and I am SO SORRY! It's just been really difficult for me to upload but hopefully I'm back on schedule now. It's been a really hectic week!

I love you all for keeping up with me and putting up with my outrageous uploading!

What was this week like for you? Are you cool with all your friends, family, peers at school?

What is your favorite color? Favorite song? Favorite movie? Wow ok sorry. It's really late and I'm hyper!


	9. Morning Mayhem

A/N: Have you guys ever noticed how Natan is nataN backwards? Also, why do all of their names/nicknames have three letters? (Amy, Dan, Nat, Ian) Ok my mind is just….

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE 39 CLUES OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS ASSOCIATED WITH IT lol **_**A-DUH**_

* * *

**Chapter 9: Morning Mayhem **

-Dan-

At precisely five a.m., Dan and Natalie woke up.

Dan yawned and looked around.

In their sleep they had shifted so now Dan's arm was wrapped around Natalie's waist and her head was snuggled in the crook of his neck.

When Dan noticed their position, his eyes widened. "Oh, um…," he said. His cheeks turned pink as he looked down at Natalie. He felt electricity course through his body as he felt Natalie's inappreciably parted lips touching his neck slightly.

Natalie slowly opened her eyes. She rubbed them sleepily with one hand and yawned quietly. Dan could feel her breath hot on his neck.

"Natalie?" he whispered.

She turned her head so she was looking at the ceiling, then back to its original position, and back to the ceiling. Her eyebrows furrowed.

The realization of what had happened seemed to be just dawning on Natalie and she subconsciously touched her full lips. Then her eyes, too, widened.

She shot up and laid back on the headboard of the bed, furiously fixing her messy hair. "Dan! Oh, hi, um…," she stumbled, which she _never _did.

Dan scooted upwards so he was in the same position as Natalie. She stopped fumbling with her appearance. For a second, they were only quiet. Both stared straight ahead and then, gradually, looked at each other.

The bed was small, meant for only one person, so there were only a few inches between their faces as their eyes met.

"You know, I'm pretty sure Nancy has twenty cats," he said with a smile.

Natalie burst out laughing and Dan followed suit.

He couldn't help it. She was just so cute and he felt proud that had made her laugh! She always found a way to make the room light up with a simple gesture.

He looked at her again after their fit had died down and admired her features. Her soft hair that shone in the light. Her striking amber eyes that captivated him every time he looked at her that were looking away from him. She really was beautiful…

He blushed again and he felt his lips smile a hardly noticeable smile.

Natalie looked at him. "What?" she asked, the barest hint of a smile tracing her lips.

Dan shook his head. "Nothing, you just… nothing," he said. She rolled her eyes and Dan laughed. "You know, I think you can leave today. Want me to get a nurse? Hopefully she can check you out after I call Nellie."

"Please do! If I have to spend another night here, well… you know," she said.

_Hey! I thought last night went pretty well! _He thought, offended.

Natalie must have seen the expression on his face because she quickly added, "No, that's not what I meant! I just prefer sleeping in my own bed, at my own house. Or, your house really."

"I'm gonna get the nurse…," Dan said.

"Yes, you do that," she replied. "I'll call Nellie."

Dan walked out of her hospital room and flagged down a nurse who conveniently happened to be walking past the room.

After Nellie had come to get them and Natalie had changed and filed some paperwork, they were good to go.

Once in the car, Nellie turned around to face Natalie. "Natalie, everyone is so sorry that they weren't there yesterday at the hospital! Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for the consideration though. It's really quite okay. Dan made exceptional company!" she said and Dan allowed himself a small smile.

They made it home and Natalie-for the first time ever- ran inside.

Dan followed her in and was greeted by the whole family-with the exception of Ian and Amy for some reason. They had cooked breakfast and were apologizing thoroughly to Natalie, who was very happy to have all the attention on her.

When everyone had calmed down, they resumed eating breakfast.

When Dan and Natalie reached the table, he pulled out her chair like a true gentleman.

"Why thank you Monsieur Cahill," she said.

"Always a pleasure Miss Kabra," he replied with a wink.

An hour later they found themselves alone in the vast garden. It was a long way from the house and it was very peaceful.

Dan had brought out a large blanket and he set it down on the grass by a huge tree.

"Wait, you want me to sit on the _floor?"_ Natalie asked.

"No, I want you to _lie down_ on the _grass,"_ he corrected.

"B-but-"

"No buts Nat. You are going to lie down and you are going to like it!" Dan said.

"Alright, but _why?"_ she asked.

"Cause we're going to play a game."

They laid down-Natalie with a disgusted look on her face- and looked up.

"Now, we're gonna cloud watch!" Dan said.

"We're going to _what?"_ Natalie questioned.

"Cloud watch! We pick a cloud and using our _imagination _we say what it looks like. For example, that one looks like a dragon!" he pointed out.

"Oh, very well. I guess I can play this silly game with you," she teased. "That one, right there, looks like a bunny."

"Nuh-uh! It looks like a puppy!" Dan yelled.

"No! It looks like a bunny!"

"Puppy!"

"Bunny!"

"German shepherd!"

"_What?_"

"Okay, it's a German shepherd bunny?"

"_What?"_

"Never mind! That one looks like a foot!" he shouted, pointing at a figure straight above him.

"Dan, where do you get these silly games?" Natalie asked.

"Some I make up, some I've been taught," he answered.

"Well, they're weird," she said. "But, they're a good weird. Like you!" She laughed and poked his nose.

Dan sat up and started looked at her menacingly.

"Dan?" she called.

He scooted closer and closer. Then, HE TICKLED HER!

"DAN-STOP-TICK-LING-ME-AH-PLEASE-PLEASE!" Natalie said in between gasps of laughter.

"NEVER!" He yelled.

"I-WILL-KILL-YOU-DAN-CAHILL-GET-OFF-ME-YOU'RE-GONNA-REGRET-THIS!"

Somehow Natalie managed to squirm away from him. She sat on top of him, pinned his arms to his sides, and laughed at the look on Dan's face.

"I told you you'd regret it!" she said.

_To be continued…_

* * *

A/N: GUYS I NEED IDEAS PLEASE

So, how was this chapter? Did you guys see the Grammy's? Did you like them? Your thoughts please!

Next chapter will be Amy/Ian but I might also make part of it the continuation of this chapter…

I HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT DAY AND THAT YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY TOMORROW TOO


	10. Stargazing

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own or am art of any aspect of the 39 clues or Denny's! **

You may read on…

* * *

**Chapter 10: Stargazing**

-Ian-

Amy and Ian ran out to the black convertible and opened the doors. They sat in a faux leather seats and Ian started up the car.

"So, where to, Love?" he asked.

"To… wherever your heart desires," Amy said, barely containing a fit of laughter. "Um, but seriously? Just drive. Let's not plan out where to go."

"That doesn't sound much like the Amy I know… But, as you wish," he said, enjoying the time he was spending with her and looking forward to the time he _would_ be spending with her. He started driving.

He could hear her steady breathing next to him and could feel the barely there vibrations the car was making as it glided across the road. He looked over at her and she made a move to turn on the radio After searching for about ten minutes for a good radio station to listen to, she finally settled on one that was playing soft music.

He was extremely aware of the pinkish blush that never quite seemed to leave her cheeks, only now intensified.

He loved having that effect on her, for whatever reason it may be.

Ian wasn't completely oblivious to other people, contrary to what his family thought. He knew that he made her feel nervous. Why else did she always blush around him? Why else did her stutter always haunt her when he was around? The reason for all this however, he did not know.

But what people did not know- at least, Ian _hoped_ they didn't- was that she made him feel the exact same way. Granted, he didn't blush -often- or stutter -ever-, but his heart did patter unevenly and a whole lot faster than usual when she was around.

She made him feel a strong pull in his gut that wasn't necessarily unwelcome. It was a lot like the feeling Ian had gotten the first time he had written a roller coaster. He felt himself leave his stomach somewhere behind him whenever she said even a measly "hello."

After nearly an hour of comfortable silence, with the exception of the radio, Amy said something. As much as Ian had enjoyed the peaceful air that had settled over them, he knew that they would have to talk eventually.

"I'm sorry, what was that, Love?" Ian asked.

"I was asking you if we might stop somewhere to eat. Maybe an all night diner? I'm starving," Amy said.

"Where do you want to stop?" Ian asked.

"I don't know… I'll tell you once we pass it," she said.

Ian nodded and turned his head back to the road.

After fifteen minutes of searching for a place Amy told him to stop.

It was a small place called "Denny's" that Ian had never been to.

They stepped out of the car and as they were about to enter the restaurant, a small lady opened the door for them.

"Thank you!" Amy said.

"Oh it's no trouble dear!" the lady called over her shoulder as she walked to her car.

He looked at Amy again and was filled with curiosity.

She was smiling at the retreating form of the lady that had opened the door for them. Then she turned to a waiter and requested a table, still smiling.

How could such a small gesture from a complete stranger have made her so happy?

She was so odd at times and yet, he wished he could be more like her. She was so caring towards everyone. And she was so gentle and nice and a genuinely good person. Why hadn't he been raised like she was? Why was his childhood the complete opposite of hers? He had always had so much that he took for granted.

He voice brought him back from his thoughts. "I-Ian? Why are you s-staring at m-me like that? The waiter's been trying to get us to follow him for a w-while…"

"Hm? Oh, right," he muttered, not taking his eyes off her.

The waiter led them to a two-person booth by a large window.

"What may I start you off with tonight?" the waiter asked them.

"I'll have some tea please," Amy said.

Ian looked at her again, surprised. A smirk grew on his face. He'd had no idea that she liked tea.

"Make that two," Ian requested.

"That'll be just a second. Here are your menus," the waiter replied and passed them their menus.

After he left, Amy turned to Ian. "So, what do you want to order?"

Ian looked the menu over.

"I'm not exactly sure. All the selections are breakfast choices…"

"Yeah, that's the point," she laughed. "Denny's started franchising in 1963. It was meant to be a family fast food breakfast kind of place. And I've been coming here for a while. It's actually really good. So, pick a breakfast food or a burger or a skillet," Amy said.

"Any… recommendations?" he asked.

"Well, I'm getting the 'Banana caramel French toast skillet' and I'm pretty sure you'll like either the 'slow-cooked pot roast' or the 'cranberry apple chicken salad," she said.

"I'll go with the latter."

Just then, the waiter walked back to them and set their tea's down on the table before them. "Have you decided what you'll be eating?"

"Yes, I'll have the banana caramel French toast skillet and he'll have the cranberry apple chicken salad," Amy said.

"Delicious choices," the waiter said with a smile. He went to give the cooks their orders.

After ten minutes of small talk, their food arrived.

They ate. They dined. They paid. They left.

Once again, they were back in the car. Soft music was still playing from the speakers and Amy had rolled her window down slightly in order to feel the crisp winter air. She was twirling a strand of hair between the fingers of her left hand and there was a book on her lap.

"Where do you suppose we go now? I can't very well just drive all night," Ian stated.

"Stop."

"_What_?"

"Stop the car," Amy said.

"_Here? Right now?"_ Ian asked, incredulous.

"Yes! Stop the car!" she yelled.

She said those words with such intensity that Ian abruptly stopped the car and both their heads jerked forward. Amy dropped her book.

The car had stopped right underneath a humungous tree near a park.

"Ian! You didn't have to stop quite so forcefully!" Amy shrieked.

"You were the one telling me to stop!"

Then, Amy took a look at their surroundings through her open window.

"It's so… lovely here…" she whispered.

_Not as lovely as you…_

"Yes, I suppose it is," he said.

Amy turned off the radio and then brought her arm up above her head and pressed a button that Ian was sure he had never used before, never feeling the need to have his hair messed up. The whole roof of the car started retracting until they were left under the night sky.

From his peripheral vision, he could see Amy slowly going lower and lower. And then he couldn't see her anymore. Curious as to why that was, he turned to look at her.

She was now laying down in her seat, looking at the heavens in awe. She wore an expression of wonder and approval.

Following her example, Ian did something he had never done. He laid down in his seat. It was a night for firsts after all.

He looked at her again for a moment before looking straight up at the sky.

A few minutes passed by without any interactions between them and then Amy, quietly, started telling him stories about the constellations.

It was nothing new of course. He knew all there was to know about astronomy. But the way she told him the legends of how they came to be allured him. Her soft, musical voice could make even the most gruesome tales sound nice and inviting. Then there were stories with happy endings to which she laughed to. Her laugh made his heart literally skip a beat. She never once looked away from the night sky, and Ian never took his eyes away from her.

"And so Perseus rescues Andromeda. A happy ending that was well deserved…" Amy finished.

She finally turned her gaze to him again.

"How come we're doing this? Like, right now. Us," she said.

Before Ian knew what he was doing, he said, "Well, you were upset, were you not? I just… wanted to make things right. Amy, I've hurt you and Daniel so much over the years… It's not fair. I'm so sorry."

"Ian, you know I've already forgiven you for that."

"I still don't know how you could. I don't know if I would have forgiven someone so easily," he said. "How come you broke up with Tolliver anyway?"

"H-he was just… being really," at this point, she got a little choked up, "distant. He wouldn't talk to me. I- I didn't know what was going on with him. I think s-something might have happened…"

"Well, he was a bloody sodding idiot for giving you up like that…"

"It was too much to bear. I put him under too much stress. You know his grades started slipping? He was losing sleep too. He wasn't meant to be thrown in to our crazy Cahill world. He's not a part of it. I never should have put him in such a compromising position. I'm surprised he didn't dump me the first chance he got," she said a little rushed.

"He'd have been the craziest person in the world to do that. The bloke didn't deserve you in the first place…" Ian said softly.

Amy laughed. "And why do you say that?"

"Because it's true."

"And you know do deserves me then?" she asked.

Ian cleared his throat. "I have a pretty good idea."

"I- I'm sure you do," Amy said, red creeping up her neck and cheeks.

They stayed silent after that and Amy eventually dozed off. It was three a.m. after all…

"Goodnight, love," Ian whispered and put his coat over her.

* * *

A/N: Was this a really weird/cheesy chapter? If you didn't like it, I am so sorry!

Next up is Natan woo!

So, what was your first date like? If you're like me and haven't had it yet, what would your perfect first date be like? DO YOU LIKE SOMEONE? Hahhah love is in the air…


	11. Don't think

A/N: I'M SO SORRY

**DISCLAIMER: I do, in no way, own the 39 Clues. I am not associated with it at all and I'm just creating a story using the characters.**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Don't think**

-**Natalie**-

"_Natalie-Get off-can't breathe-Oh God!"_ Dan said in between gasps of air.

"No! You tickled me! I'm not letting you get away that _easily_," I yelled.

Luckily, Dan was saved from my wrath when Nellie came out the back door and called us. We had to start planning what we were going to do for the holidays. Christmas was in three days and then the New Year came soon after.

"I think we should keep it simple."We heard Ted say as we walked inside.

"Why don't we just-," Ned was interrupted by the sound of the door opening and closing and two pairs of footsteps making their way towards us.

"Ian!"

"Amy!"

"You're back!"

"What were you guys _doing?_"

Were just a few shouts that were heard among the crowd of people in the sitting room.

"O-oh, morning g-guys," Amy said uneasily, blushing. "We-we were at the p-,"

"We were at the park," Ian explained with much more ease.

"_All night?"_ Nellie asked.

"Well, we went to eat and then we fell asleep in the car so, I suppose that constitutes as all night. Though, it hardly matters now," he said.

"Amy, what- what were _you _doing with- _him,"_ Dan pointed towards Ian, "_all_ _night_?"

"We-we were j-just _talking_, alright?"

"I hardly call interacting with Ian ever _just_ talking," he replied.

"Well, that's what we were doing!"

"Alright kiddos! Let's move on, yeah? I don't want there to be any more fighting! Let's just sit and plan out what we're going to do for the holidays. I've given you partners and tasks to set up the decorations. Amy- you're with Natalie-,"

I gasped.

"_What? _You're pairing _us _up together? But-but we don't get along!"

"That's kinda the point girlie. I want you guys to bond! So please go and get the decorations down from the attic. You'll be decorating the front of the house. Now, please, don't let there be any more interruptions. I'm going to read the rest of the list: Dan and Ian, you'll decorate the living room so you best go help get the decorations out of the attic, Hamilton and Ted, you'll be…" Her voice faded as we walked up the stairs and to the attic.

"I simply _can't believe _that _I _actually have to _help_ _decorate! _It's completely absurd! I never had to do this…" I trailed off not wanting to think about what I had almost said. I promised myself that I wouldn't think about this, not anymore, but my resolve had been broken with the chore I had been told to do.

"Never had to do this _where?_" Dan inquired.

"I never had to do this at _home!_" I spat.

"Natalie…," Ian said softly. "You know-you know it's not like- _that_- anymore. Those days are… behind us."

I fought the urge to let the tears that were pooling together in my eyes fall, swiping urgently at my face.

"I _know._ _I know_ it's not like that anymore! I just- I can't help but think about it, okay?" I whispered harshly.

"Nat, no one expects you to just forget about how difficult this can be… Especially with- with all that has… _happened._ We all realize how hard it can be," Dan said, looking right into my glossy eyes.

Amy shifted uncomfortably. "Hey, you've been through a lot recently. W-we all have… But- not helping out during something that could potentially be helpful to other family members… well, that's just- it's not going to do _anything_. Not for anyone- and especially not for yourself. You know as well as I that this is a chance to regain some normality after our unfortunate _situation."_

"Amy's right," Ian stated simply. "Now how about we do the tasks we were assigned to do, yeah? I highly doubt that Nellie would appreciate our slacking. Come on, it won't be _so _bad."

And then he gave me just a ghost of a desperately sad smile and walked off with Amy in tow, obviously hoping to spend even _more _time with her. It was as if I could hear my own heart slowly chipping. I felt parts of myself- my old self- breaking away from me. I had to focus. I had to get myself together. I had to- I had to what? What did I have to do that wouldn't result in me completely falling apart. It was like everything nowadays could trigger disorienting flashbacks that would scare the wits out of me. What was wrong with me? Why- _how_- how could I possibly be extraordinarily happy one minute and horribly depressed the next?

Then Dan spoke, breaking me out of my self-evaluation.

"Your brother cares about you-a lot. You can see it, in his eyes, I mean. The way he looks at you, with such an extreme amount of- of _concern_. But, he just doesn't know what to do, you know? To make you feel better, normal," he said.

"That doesn't-I'm- that doesn't change anything. I'm _fine._ _I'm fine._"

And with that I walked away from him.

As I sorted through boxes and boxes of horribly unappealing, _colorful_ decorations, my thoughts drifted away without my consent.

How could I, Natalie Kabra, have let myself become what I am? How could I have let myself become a person who cringes at the thought of the dark, who's breathing hitches when she thinks about anything relating to her family or her background, who is terrorized throughout the night with endless nightmares that just _keep getting worse?_ I should be stronger than this. I should- I should _know better. _I was raised to believe that no harm would come to me because I was a Kabra, that I was superior to everyone else, that nothing else matter but winning.

I shouldn't have let myself get this far out of control.

What made me happy now? What possibly caused a real, honest-to-god smile to form on my lips without warning? It _used _to be _shopping_. It _used_ to be _money_. It _used _to be _winning, _at anything and everything. But I hadn't won, had I? I had lost the ultimate battle. I had lost everything that I had previously thought to be dear to me. I had lost my family. I had lost myself.

As for what made me happy though…

A picture of Dan Cahill's goofy, lopsided smile invaded my brain.

_He _made me happy. Who would have thought? Who would have thought that two people who used to never stop tormenting each other, every day of the week, would eventually become friends? If someone had told me what I'd be thinking now a few months- even weeks- ago I would have laughed mercilessly in their face. I would have called them crazy and perhaps even tried to check the into a mental hospital, because there was _no way _anyone like _me _would ever be even mildly attracted to someone like _him_. But now I wasn't so sure.

He just had this aura to him. This beautiful, wonderful personality that made me laugh and feel lightheaded and dizzy and _safe._ He made me realize where I belonged: right next to him and the rest of my family.

I gathered up the decorations I had collected in an empty box just as Amy walked past me asking if I was done and if I wanted to get started.

Putting all my thoughts aside I replied, as calmly and sincerely as possible, "Sure, I'm done," because there was no way- _no way_- I was giving anyone even the slightest hint of what was going through my head at the moment.

* * *

A/N: Just a little insight into the mind of Natalie Kabra. Hopefully this wasn't too bad. I've had a rough few weeks and I'm slacking and not doing what I should be doing. I can't focus anymore and it really sucks but I'm trying to get back on schedule.

So! What's the most exciting thing that happened to you these past few weeks? What are _your _thoughts on Natalie Kabra and the evaluation of her life?


	12. The Joy of Flower Arrangements

I'm a terrible procrastinator, but I'm trying to get better I swear!

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own or have any rights over the 39 Clues. I am solely manipulating the characters…**

* * *

**Chapter 12: The Joy of Flower Arrangements **

Dan made his way down the stairs down the attic; right after the girls had gone down, with a box full of tree decorations. Ian followed close by with a box of decorations for the rest of the living room. Before they could start setting up the decorations, though, they had to buy the perfect tree -_obviously_. They couldn't put decorations on a nonexistent tree.

As they drove to the nearest tree shop, Dan looked at Ian.

"So, dude, what's the deal with you and my sister?" Dan asked pointedly.

After a moment, in which Ian didn't respond for the simple fact that he couldn't bring himself to tell Amy's brother that he had a crush on her, Dan kept talking, "Cause, I mean, if you hurt her, I swear I will probably kill you. You can't be pulling the same stupid stunts you pulled in stupid Korea." Well, it was more like _threatening._

Finally, finding his courage and collecting himself, Ian replied. "Dan, with all due respect, I could never- _would never-_hurt her again. Anyway, you're wasting your time. Amy doesn't see me like that. I'm positive your sister still hates me. Why would you think something is 'up' with us?"

"Dude, you're so stupid. And you guys spent all night together just out of the blue! It's, like, super obvious that you're in love with her." Dan said.

"I'm _what? _I'm not _in love _with her! _Did you just call me stupid?" _Ian asked, incredulous. "And _why_, might I ask, am I so _stupid? _And it's not my fault we fell asleep. We were tired!_"_

Dan laughed and held up his hands in front of his body. "Ian, chill. I didn't mean it like that." He laughed again. "You were tired HA! You're like a child protégé or whatever. I meant that, when it comes to my sister, you're, like, really dumb."

"How?"

"_Because_, she _obviously _isn't over you! She never got over what you did to her in Korea and I'm sensing that she still has some unresolved feelings for you. You just have to find some way to make her diss Evan Troll-iver."

"She broke up with Evan last night…" Ian commented.

Dan looked at Ian with a face full of mixed emotions: happiness, anger, disbelief. "She _what?_ Why didn't she tell me?"

"Well, I'm sure that she just couldn't find the time. She barely saw you and it just happened. Oh! That reminds me," Ian said. "She gave me this to give to you because she didn't get to give it to you last night. That one is from her and this one is from… Evan…"

"What? No present from you? Is Ian Kabra too high up to get Dan Cahill a present?"

"It's back at the house you silly boy." Ian paused. "_Well_? Are you going to open them?" He asked, pointing to the presents

"I open all my presents on Christmas because it's close and then I get to open double the presents, _duh,_" Dan said, as if it would be obvious.

"Alright…" Ian replied, looking at the now excited face of Dan Cahill.

"Ian! Make a left here! PLEASE! PLEASE MAKE A LEFT TURN HERE. LIKE, RIGHT NOW. SERIOUSLY! IAN PULL OVER!" Dan yelled. He started moving towards Ian and trying to turn the steering wheel.

"DANIEL! YOU'RE GOING TO GET US KILLED! ST-STOP-STOP IT! WHAT-ARE-YOU-DOING?!" Ian said, struggling with Dan as he kept trying to steer the car. "I'M-TOO YOUNG-TO DIE!"

"TURN HERE!"

"FINE!" Ian jerked the wheel left and skidded to a halt at a parking space close to the shop that Dan wanted to enter.

"Now, would you like to enlighten me as to why in the world you did that? You nearly cost me my head!"

"Stop exaggerating, Drama Queen! I need to go into that store! And when am I ever going to get the chance to do that ever again?" Dan said.

"Daniel, why on _Earth_ do _you_ want to go into a _flower shop_?"

"Just stay right here and don't move!" he shouted over his shoulder as he ran towards the shop.

He heard a bell ring from above his head as he opened the door. Almost immediately after he walked in, an old lady appeared at his side.

She smiled. "Hi, I'm Linda. Would you like any help with your purchase? Are you looking for anything in particular?"

Dan smiled back at her. "I think I'm gonna go for some red roses. Classic is good, right?"

"Well, personally I prefer white roses. They're just so elegant! And they look beautiful. Are they for anyone special?" Linda asked.

"Well…. They're for this _girl,_" he muttered.

"I would definitely go with the white roses! Oh, she'll love them, whoever she is!"

Linda led Dan to the register and made him wait while she got the papers he had to fill out for where they were going to be delivered and when. While she was gone, Dan started to think about a certain someone in particular. Natalie Kabra. SHE WAS DRIVING HIM MAD. The revelation had happened this morning when she was tickling him and she had just looked so… _incandescent_.

The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that she was a completely different person. Well, not a _completely _changed. But she was kinder and she could take a joke- and she would joke back! But what was most surprising of all, was that she seemed to also enjoy spending time with him!

He was distracted by a hand waving papers and a pen in front of his face.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" he yelped, taking the papers.

When he joined in back in the car, Ian looked like he was about to faint.

"Dude, did you sleep _at all _last night?" Dan asked.

Ian looked startled at his voice but answered nonetheless. "No, I didn't."

"Wait! Then that means Amy stayed up with you! YOU GUYS WERE AWAKE ALL NIGHT TOGETHER?"

"NO! She fell asleep but I couldn't," Ian said.

"Yeah, okay. Are you sure you weren't just too busy staring at her like a creep?" Dan asked.

He flushed. "No! I didn't stare at her at all! It's not like that. Dan, I don't like Amy!"

"Yeah, sure. And I'm ambidextrous. Besides, Ian Kabra blushing? You're spending too much time with that thing that I have to call a sister."

In an effort to change the subject, Ian said, "So, back on track. Let's find a tree."

"Let's talk about how much Amy loves trees!"

"Let's not."

"Ok! So, tree!"

* * *

A/N: Ok so I'm really sorry this took so long! But, it's here now! Should the next chapter be already on Christmas? Or? IDK WHAT YOU WANT. Give me your input peeps.

So, are you going anywhere or doing anything over Spring break? I'm leaving the country! TELL ME A STORY ABOUT YOU AND OR YOUR LIFE OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW. I'd love to hear from you!


	13. The Nightmare Before Christmas

A/N: Hey guys! This chapter honestly took forever to write because I wanted to make it really good and just GAHH IT'S KILLING ME and also I was in Peru and I have a crazy story about that wow

**DISCLAIMER: I do not, in any way, own the 39 clues, nor am I a part of it. No profit is being made from this story.**

* * *

**Chapter 13: The Nightmare Before Christmas**

Amy Cahill usually wasn't one to be in a foul mood so close to Christmas. This holiday, however, there was an exception. And that exception was in the form of none other than Natalie Kabra.

Natalie had been getting on Amy's nerves since the day they were told to decorate the outside of the mansion together. When they had gotten outside, Natalie had accidentally made Amy slip and fall- on her butt. She was beyond annoyed. Like, even more annoyed than when she was around Dan, her dork of a brother.

Not only had she made her get countless injuries and made fun of her the whole time, she had also engaged her in a very awkward conversation. It had basically gone like this:

Natalie: "Amy, are you still dating Tolliver?"

Amy: "N-no. Why?"

Natalie: "Oh, no reason. How are things going with Ian?"

Amy: "W-_what?_"

Natalie: "Well, you know, your relationship."

Amy: "N-n-no! I don't know. _What _relationship?"

Natalie: "Amy, it's okay. I didn't mean it like that. I was just wondering how you were getting along. Though everyone knows that you both have chemistry like scientists. You still like him and all he ever does is make googly-eyes at you."

Amy: "N-Nat-Natalie! I do not l-like your brother!"

Natalie: "Amy, you don't have to lie to me. I'm not daft. So when are you guys going to seal the deal?"

Amy had just stayed completely silent after that, blushing like mad. Her face had probably looked worse than it did when she spent hours in the sun without sunblock.

But, honestly, the _nerve _of that girl! How could she even _think_ that Amy had feelings for that _snake! _She obviously hated him! Or, that was what Amy was trying to convince herself of.

Over the past few days, she had realized how true Natalie's words had been. Well, not the part about Ian liking her- he probably still thought she was gross or something. But, Amy? Boy was she falling.

If she had to pin-point exactly when her feelings had started to come to the surface, she would have to say the day that they rescued the hostages would be it. He had held her hand and helped her out so much. And he had been a really big part of the drafting of the plan. Something had happened with him, she guessed, after her had seen his sister.

Every day after that, Ian had kept participating and talking to Amy more and more. They had gotten pretty close. And then he had to go and be the mastermind behind Dan's birthday carnival. Seriously, who even _thinks _of things like that? And he had helped her through her breakup. He had taken her roller-blading at a rink that she used to love. He let her talk nonstop about the night skies. THEY HAD FALLEN ASLEEP TOGETHER.

And that was all Amy had been thinking about for, like, four days already.

Today was Christmas Eve and everyone had been talking and telling stories and having a lot of fun. Eventually, they all, one by one, went to their respectful bedrooms to rest before they had to get up at un-godly hours of the morning to open their presents.

Now, it was late and Amy, after the mini x-mas eve celebration, was too hyped up to sleep.

She went downstairs to warm some milk- to drink while she read –to help her fall asleep. But, being the highly unlucky person that she was, she ran into the person that had been invading her thoughts day and night since his evil sister had brought him up before she got to the kitchen.

Ian Kabra.

It appeared he had the same idea as her to help him sleep and was sitting on the couch, sipping a mug of warm milk, in deep concentration, mildly slouching (SLOUCHING? WHAT? WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?) over the book he was reading- one of Amy's favorite books nonetheless. Which-she realized-was taken from the bookshelf in her room. In some part of her subconscious mind she vaguely wondered how he had taken it from her room without her noticing. But her conscious mind was too busy being distracted by a very attractive and very under-dressed Ian Kabra.

This, being the first time that Amy had seen him in anything other than expensive, designer clothing, was quite surprised to say the least. He was wearing-totally unKabra like- maroon sweatpants that went down half-way to his calves and tightened and his hair was messy. Also-minor detail here-Ian was not wearing a shirt. Like, entirely bare-chested. He was completely exposing his perfectly chiseled chest and broad shoulders and Amy's eyes just couldn't help but widen as she marveled at how smooth his mocha-colored skin looked.

_Snap out of it, before he sees you ogling! _She scolded herself.

Just then, the boy in question looked up and smirked when he saw her expression. "Oh, hello love," he said, winking.

Amy flushed and turned away. "H-hi I-Ian…"

While Amy was not looking, Ian did a double take. Amy was wearing a white tank-top and red shorts and her red hair was in a messy bun. "Well, Amy, I had no idea you could dress so…"

Amy looked down and blushed. "S-shouldn't you b-be putting on a shirt?" she mumbled.

"Nope," he said, popping the 'p' sound.

"Well, I'd appreciate it if you did," she huffed.

"I'm pretty comfortable in what I'm wearing, love. What are you doing down here so late?" he asked.

She held up and arm holding a book. "Same as you, I guess."

"Well, by all means Amy, join me." He patted the seat next to him.

Amy scoffed. "It's my house!" She opted for taking the seat farthest away from him, but to no avail. Ian just slid down the couch until he was right next to her. She looked at him. "Could you… maybe, I don't know, _not?"_

"Could I not what, Amy?" Ian asked in mock-innocence, batting his eyes at her.

Amy tried to ignore the feeling in her stomach at his closeness, and said, "You know very well what I am talking about Ian. Just-please- scoot over."

Surprisingly, he did scoot over. But just a little bit. And his attitude changed completely.

"I'll be right back," he said.

A few minutes later he was back with a mug of warm milk that he held out to her as he sat down next to her again.

"Wow, thanks Ian."

Ian picked up his book. "Don't mention it." He looked like he wanted to say more but he closed his mouth again.

They sat there for a few minutes, sipping their milk and reading.

"You know, Amy, I really am sorry. I just... wish there was some way to... let you know how-"

"Ian," she cut him off gently, surprised at his sudden apology. "We've already had this conversation. I already forgave you for what you and the rest of our family did during the clue hunt!"

He sighed. "No, Amy, that's not what I'm talking about…"

Amy was confused now. "Um, what are you talking about, then?"

Ian looked distraught. "I'm talking about Korea." Amy felt her heart drop at his words. "I was… terrible. Everything- it's not even- the fact that my _mother_," he spat out the word, looking angry, "made me do it- that's no excuse. I should have never done something like that to you. You didn't deserve it and- just- I'm sorry. _God, I'm so sorry._"

Amy couldn't understand what was going on.

"I-Ian- Ian oh- _oh_! Ian, you don't- I mean you _do_- I mean- _thank you!" _And before Amy knew what she was doing, she had launched herself at Ian and tackled him in a hug. He was thrown backwards by the impact and landed with his back on the couch with Amy on top of him, still gripping his shoulders.

It took a moment but he finally realized what was going on and he slowly brought his arms up to surround her waist, hugging her back. He could not believe that this was happening.

Amy pulled away slightly and as she was about to kiss Ian on the cheek to thank him again, he turned his head to the side, resulting in Amy kissing the corner of his mouth, just a millimeter away from his lips.

Immediately, both of their eyes opened wide and they seemed to notice for the first time how compromising the position they were in really was. It was then that they shot apart from each other and scooted to opposite ends of the couch.

They sat in silence again until Ian cleared his throat when the clock rang midnight. He was blushing, as was Amy, right down to her chest, and neither of their eyes had not gotten any less wide. "Happy Christmas Amy."

She merely nodded.

After a few seconds, the tension seemed to dissipate. Ian laughed. A real, hearty laugh and Amy had no choice but to join in. Pretty soon they were both clutching their stomachs and leaning against each other (when did they get so close again?) wiping tears away.

"Ian- I am- so- sorry!" Amy said in between breaths of laughter.

"Oh no, love. Believe me, it's quite alright," he muttered with a glint in his eye.

Still leaning against each other, they both picked their books up and started reading. Every now and then one of them would ask the other a question or say something about the book they were reading or steal a secret glance at the other, until eventually, they both drifted off.

Many hours later, the clock chimed six o'clock in the morning and they both woke up simultaneously, wrapped together in a warm embrace that neither could remember falling asleep in- but it wasn't awkward in the slightest. Amy was aware of how ridiculously _good _he smelled. They unanimously decided that they had to go upstairs and pretend to sleep until Dan ran a rampage through the house to wake everybody up for Christmas day.

They parted ways and went to their rooms, both thinking about what had transpired in the night.

When Amy re-emerged from her room after Dan had "awoken" her, she ran into Ian, yet again, who was now-thankfully- wearing a white V-neck.

The family had a rule about wearing your pj's while opening presents, and Ian Kabra was _not_ going to break that tradition.

"I see you decided to show up _dressed_ this morning," Amy said.

"I see you decided to," he paused, thinking. "I can't think of anything that's wrong with you!" he said finally, cracking a huge smile.

Amy blushed. She was so disoriented by his sort-of compliment, in fact, that she ended up tripping over her own feet on her way down the hall to the stairs, ending up on her butt.

Ian laughed and leaned down to help her up. Once she was up, however, he did not let go of her hand, and she didn't pull away so he didn't either.

* * *

Amy's smile hadn't dropped a millimeter all throughout the day and by the time they had finished eating, her cheeks hurt more than she could ever imagine. It had been such a wonderful day for her and she couldn't help but express her jubilation.

Everyone was in the living room, chatting before going to bed. Amy had gone out to the garden in her formal attire and a coat. She had forgotten just how cold it was outside but couldn't be bothered to go inside and change. She was sitting on a bench looking up at the stars that reminded her of that night in the car with Ian.

Amy had gotten him a nice watch that had his name engraved on the back of it and a record of some of the works of Beethoven for him to play on his record player. She had yet to receive a present from him though… Did that mean something? Or was she just overreacting?

She heard steady footsteps behind her.

"May I?" Ian Kabra asked.

"G-go ahead," Amy replied, surprised that he was there.

He sat down next to her and she felt him shuffle around for a second and then sit still.

"Amy?" he asked. "I want to give you something."

She looked up into his soft eyes that were watching her with intensity. He slowly brought out a gift-wrapped, lumpy present from behind his back and held it out to her. "What is it?" she asked.

"You'll just have to open it and see."

Warily but deliberately, Amy tore off the wrapping paper to find a small book-shaped box and an actual book underneath it, creating an uneven surface. She took the box first, opened it gently, and gasped. Inside was a beautiful ring shaped like a snake with emerald eyes. "Oh, Ian, it's wonderful!" she cried and let him slip in onto her right ring finger.

"It's nothing really…" he said.

"Oh! But it is, really!" she exclaimed. Then she focused her attention on the book. When she saw what it was, she didn't have any idea what it was about. That is, until she read the description in the back and a few of the pages.

Amy remembered that she had once mentioned to Ian that she had real a marvelous book that she didn't own and didn't remember the name of. She told him she had searched forever to find it again but always came up empty handed. She told him all about the plot and the characters and how much she had loved it. And here was that very book, sitting in her lap!

"IAN! I can't believe you went through the trouble of finding this! How-? When-? Where-? Why-? Oh my god!" And for the second time that day, Amy tackled him in a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you a million times!"

"Amy, honestly, it was no big deal!"

She quickly got off him and started flipping through the pages. When she reached the back, she saw that there was writing on the inside cover. It read:

To Amy,

I remember quite well the day that you told me about this book and made it a mission of mine

to find it. So, here it is. I hope you enjoy it greatly and that it made an acceptable Christmas

present. It wasn't enough for a pretty girl like you, but I'm lousy at giving gifts, sorry.

Much love,

Ian Kabra

"Ian! This is spectacular! I don't even think you understand how great of a gift this is! Thank you so much!" She said.

After some small talk, the both decided to retire to their rooms for the night.

Ian walked Amy to her bedroom and just before she went in, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek that made Amy feel like she was going to throw up or faint or something. When she got inside she flopped on her bed, hugging her new favorite book tightly to her chest. She sank into a peaceful sleep, still thinking about her day with Ian.

* * *

A/N: I feel like this wasn't as good as I wanted it to be but I can't make you guys wait any longer! I'M TERRIBLY SORRY IF IT SUCKS OR IF IT DOESN'T LIVE UP TO YOUR EXPECTATIONS


	14. The Best Christmas Gift Ever

A/N: I wish I had an important enough excuse to tell you why I've been on such an unexpected hiatus but really I was just taking time to myself mostly among other things. But I'm back now with a new chapter.

The end of the story is getting closer and closer and I'm freaking out because I already finished writing all of it and I'm going to post the rest in a few days time, so be on the lookout!

Anyway, tell me what you think.

**DISCLAIMER: I do not, in any way, own the 39 clues, nor am I a part of it. No profit is being made from this story.**

* * *

**Chapter 14: The Best Christmas Gift Ever**

-**Dan-**

Christmas had pretty much passed by quickly for Dan.

He had woken up at five am (seriously what was up with his sleeping schedule?) and thought to get some breakfast before gathering everyone up to open gifts. He stumbled out of his room, his mind still a bit foggy with sleep, and silently crept through the halls and down the stairs. He had just reached the landing, and saw, to his utter surprise and displeasure, that his sister was sleeping on the couch wrapped up in the Cobra's arms. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

But no. He, unfortunately, was _not_ hallucinating.

How could she? Oh God, Dan was _definitely_ going to have to talk some sense into that girl once he had a moment alone with her.

He was about to wake them up with a cry of outrage, when at the last moment, after his lips had already parted and he could feel his shout bubbling up deep inside his chest, he thought of Amy's feelings about the sneaky brat for the first time since Korea. Back then he had tried to console her. Now he was just looking for revenge on the cold-hearted monster that had hurt his sister.

But he forced himself to focus on Amy. What would she do if she was in his situation and knew how he felt? What if it was him on the couch with Natalie warmed up in his embrace? _Woah wait. Rewind. __**Natalie? **_Where the heck did that come from? God, revelations about girls were dumb to have. Honestly.

_Focus Dan! Focus._

What would Amy do?

The answer was obvious. If she knew how Dan felt and had seen this happening, she would let them sleep peacefully until it was time to wake up. She would never tell a living soul about his predicament and would probably never bring it up around him either. _Yeah but Amy has an unnaturally caring heart and an even bigger soft spot for her family._ Dan sighed. It seemed like he was going to have to be the bigger person here and give Ian a chance. After the last talk they had shared, he felt like maybe he deserved it.

"Ugh," he muttered quietly, and retraced his footsteps back up into his room.

He fell down onto his bed with a grunt.

_Stupid messed up sleeping schedule. Stupid Ian Kabra and his stupid charm. Stupid Amy and her stupid morals that are somehow seeping into me. SHE'S CONTAGIOUS! _

He got up from his bed and moved to his door. He really had to pee. After finishing up his morning routine, he went back to his room.

About half an hour later he heard soft footsteps climbing up the stairs.

He threw himself onto his floor and peaked under his door to see two pairs of feet. Amy and Ian. He got up from the floor and tiptoed back to his bed and sat down. He looked at his watch and decided to wait a few more minutes before waking up the rest of his family.

Okay, first was Nellie. Her room was situated at the end of the hall. From there he would go down the hall towards the stairs and keep waking up his family members.

After ten minutes and much yelling at him to go away, Dan was patiently waiting outside Natalie's door.

She opened it and looked at him sleepily, giving him a small smile. "Good morning."

He smiled. "Hey Nat. It's time to open presents."

"Lovely. I'll just be on my way then." She pushed past him and headed to the bathroom. She came out a few minutes later looking a bit more lively and strutted down the hallway and to the stairs, her hips swinging behind her.

Dan groaned internally.

This fascination he had with her was seriously not okay. His stomach started fluttering as he thought about the presents that he had gotten her. Once was wrapped under the tree and waiting to be opened already, but the other one… Oh it made him nervous just thinking about it. The roses that he had bought with Ian had been delivered to the house and were lying on his dresser. He had written a note too that was attached to the tallest rose and it had taken him like five years to come up with what to write on it.

Five minutes later, he was still staring at where Natalie had disappeared from his view as she walked deeper down the stairs.

He felt a jolt at his side and was caught off guard as Hamilton punched his arm and shouted "MERRY CHRISTMAS DANNY!"

"Ham, come on. Ease up on the muscle power. I weigh like three pounds compared to you." Dan humphed. "Merry Christmas to you too," he added as an afterthought.

Time to open gifts.

The day passed in a blur as he anxiously waited for a moment alone with Natalie so he could give her his second present.

Finally though, it was nearing midnight and most of his family had retired to their rooms.

He saw Natalie sitting a few feet away surrounded by a pile of presents and wrapping paper from that morning. He saw his gift shimmering slightly in the light sitting on her wrist.

She looked over at him. "Hey, I never got to thank you for the present this morning," she said, holding up her arm. "It was great. Really. I had no idea you had such nice taste." He smiled.

"Yeah, well, I can be all sorts of unexpected. Besides, it was just a bracelet," he said simply.

"Just a bracelet? Dan, you know how much I wanted it! It was an amazing gift!"

"Yeah well…" He took a breath. "Umm I have… I have something else for you too," he said quickly.

He stood up and started heading upstairs, gesturing for her to follow.

Once in his room he told her to close her eyes and led her to the balcony. "Just wait here for a sec okay?" he whispered. Carefully picking up the roses from his dresser, he made his way back to her and held them out. "Okay, you can open your eyes now."

She did and once she saw what he was holding, she gasped in surprise and took the roses in her hands. "You weren't kidding when you said you could be unexpected," she said, her eyes gleaming.

"No, I guess not," he muttered and silently laughed.

"Dan, this is amazing. Thank you so much."

"Yeah, I didn't really know what to get you at first, and there were so many options and you like so many things, and I thought that I was maybe making a mistake or something. And I didn't know what kind of flowers you liked or if you even liked flowers because wow maybe you're allergic! I never even though of that! I'm so sorry! You're not allergic are you? I really hope you're not and that you do like flowers but-" he was cut off as her lips pressed against his.

His momentary shock and paralysis at feeling her warm lips on his wore off after a second and he could feel them _moving_ and they were soft, _so soft, _and he just about forgot everything else in the world but the feeling that was growing deep inside his stomach. Somewhere in the back of his mind he vaguely heard the flowers fall to the floor with a faint_ thud_ as _Natalie Kabra_ brought her hands up to lay around his neck.

On impulse, one of his arms encircled her waist and tugged her closer to him while the other rested on her back. He felt her fingers twining through the small hairs at the nape of his neck and her nails softly rubbing circles on his skin. Her hair smelled like vanilla and her hands were soft against him.

After a short moment she pulled back and Dan had to stop himself from making a sound of protest as he slowly opened his eyes. _This couldn't be real. This couldn't actually be happening. No way had Natalie Kabra _voluntarily_ kissed him!_ _This had to be a dream. _

He looked at her peaceful face and saw her looking up at him with glittering amber eyes. "Happy Christmas Daniel," she whispered and kissed his cheek once more before promptly walking back into his room and out the door.

_Did that really just happen?_

_NATALIE KABRA HAD JUST KISSED HIM! HE HAD JUST HAD HIS FIRST KISS! WITH NATALIE KABRA!_

Dan did a happy dance around his room and finally, when he had grown exhausted, changed into his pj's and fell onto his bed on top of his sheets and comforter, not bothering to straighten anything out before he drifted off to sleep with a huge smiled plastered on his face.

-**Natalie-**

_Oh God what just happened?_

* * *

A/N: SO HERE IT IS! THE GREAT KISS! So tell me what you think and whatever else idk reshhfskajhfskjd I'm still freaking out that I wrote this

Idk

How

I

Feel

Anymore

Was this even any good? Ah help meeee


End file.
